Searchin'
by Ilyusha
Summary: This is the back-story for my OC Tracer. Admissions in the night and downtime lead to thinking and more admissions.
1. The First Hurdle

Warnings: Erm… none really, at least not in this part  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… After having had this sat on my computer for far too long… and having undergone many edits and rewrites, I'm actually daring to post this! Hah… I've got an OC… and I've realised how much harder it is to integrate on OC into a canon universe rather than AU's... although this probably counts as slightly AU – I think everything I do is AU :)  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

* * *

"Got a little challenge for you Tracer." Tracer looked up warily at her mentor. 

"Like what?"

If you can find me, then we know you're ready." Hound smiled down at the blue Minibot by his side, watching as she comprehended what he had just said.

"You mean…?"

"Yup. But you have to find me first."

"Hah. Easier than taking energon from a sparkling!"

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"A bit over zealous isn't she?" Ultra Magnus nodded thoughtfully in answer to the question by the mech. standing next to him. They had stood and watched the interaction between mentor and student from the balcony above.

"She is, but from what Hound reports, Tracer would certainly be an asset to any unit. Her tracking skills are second to none. The only weakness she has is lack of strength if she were attacked."

"Which as a tracker she wouldn't necessarily need." Red Alert could see himself being drawn in to the careful trap Ultra Magnus had laid. "That could easily be compensated for." He watched the slight figure as she moved impatiently while Hound was speaking to her. It was evident that she was a tracker; the sensors sticking out from her helmet were obvious, but also the flawless efficient way she moved; a light easy rhythm that showed she would have a fast and manoeuvrable alt-mode.

"Exactly."

"Fine. If she can find Hound, I'll have her on my team."

"Wouldn't think of assigning her anywhere else Red Alert." Ultra Magnus smiled as innocently as he possibly could. Sometimes schemes worked.

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"Right, before we start, I'll take you to meet your potential team leader."

"Now?"

"Yup." Tracer reluctantly trudged after Hound; far more eager to actually be out and tracking than stuck inside meeting stuffy officers. Hound led her to where Ultra Magnus and Red Alert stood waiting. "Tracer, you know Ultra Magnus." Tracer nodded at the Second in Command of the Autobots, trying hard not to fidget.

"This is Red Alert. His team works out in Sector G2." Tracer gave a small wave in his direction.

"We done now?" Hound gave an apologetic smile to Ultra Magnus and Red Alert before nodding.

"We're done. You can entertain these two while I make my escape." Tracer barely managed to stop the groan from leaving her vocaliser as he patted her shoulder before leaving.

"So…" Ultra Magnus began.

"Yeah…" Tracer replied absently, trying to focus her sensors on Hound's location, a faint frown crossing her faceplate as she realised she couldn't.

"You do not speak to an officer like that." Red Alert snapped, drawing Tracer's attention away from her apparently malfunctioning sensors and back to the two mechs. standing with her.

"Heh. Sorry Sir." She smiled sheepishly up at them and answered the questions they asked easily, trying to ignore the fact that her sensors couldn't detect anything beyond the edges of the building.

There was a brief pause and Ultra Magnus nodded to himself.

"Hound says he's ready now and that we can remove the dampener." Tracer looked up at him in surprise.

"The fragger…" She muttered as Ultra Magnus reached down and plucked a small device off her shoulder. So small, her external sensors hadn't even registered its placement. The muttered comment earned her a glare from Red Alert which she tried to ignore. Ultra Magnus smiled down at her and swept a hand in front of himself.

"If you would care to lead the way?" Relieved that she could now register more than the walls of the building on her sensors, she walked confidently towards the exit.

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She stopped outside, simply standing and staring off into the distance, trying to get a reading on the direction Hound took. She already knew he would have tried disguising his energy signature. If he'd pull the trick with the sensor dampener, he'd certainly try to do everything he could to evade detection.

"Well?" Red Alert asked, impatient for the demonstration to begin.

"Give me half a klik!" Tracer retorted, turning to face him down. Or up, seeing as he was taller than her. The downside with being a Minibot was that you ended up looking up to everyone. The red and white mech. stared down at her, raising an optic ridge as he did so. "Yeah, I know… don't speak like that to an officer…" Pointedly, she turned her back on Red Alert, missing Ultra Magnus' smile as she did so. She didn't miss Red Alert's huff as he struggled for a response, but chose instead to concentrate on her sensors; readings filtering through the sensory projections on either side of her helmet.

"This way." She said, transforming and speeding off into the distance. Muttered exclamations followed her and it wasn't long before she had Red Alert following her, berating her for rushing off like that.

"You want me to find him, then let me do it my way." She snapped at him. He throttled back slightly, and apologised.

"Did I just hear that right?" She heard Ultra Magnus ask over their shared frequency. "Red Alert apologising?"

"Wait…" Tracer stopped suddenly, needing to be stationery to concentrate on the readings she was just picking up. "I'm registering Decepticons heading for Hound's location."

"You know where he is?"

"Yes. And he ain't gonna detect the Decepticons until it's too late. His sensors aren't built for that distance!"

"Red Alert?"

"I'm not getting anything Ultra Magnus. Besides, there shouldn't be any Decepticon activity in this area. We wouldn't have held the demonstration if we thought there might be an attack."

"Will you believe me? There's six of them and they're heading in his direction." She relayed the co-ordinates of Hound's location to them. "And one of them's projecting a jamming signal. I can't get through to him on the comm."

She didn't wait any longer, speeding off in the direction she'd indicated towards Hound and the incoming Decepticons.

"Is she mad?" Red Alert asked Ultra Magnus as they tried their best to keep up as well as continually trying to contact the Academy and monitor their own sensors.  
"Concerned maybe." The 2IC mused. "But then, so am I. There shouldn't be Decepticons in the area; we double-checked the perimeter readings before we set out."

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Pulling up and transforming, they found Tracer waiting at the edge of an abandoned building, crouching down low to keep out of sight.

"He's not far from here and neither are the Decepticons." She pointed. "They'll come in from that direction and by the time we see them, they'll have already detected Hound, if they haven't already."

"She's right…" Red Alert began to pick up the Decepticons on his sensors. Tracer turned and gave him a look that said 'I told you so' before straightening up and addressing Ultra Magnus.

"We need to help him… Sir."

"Agreed, but there are only the three of us. Communications are still being blocked so we can't call reinforcements. Suggestions?" Ultra Magnus looked at Red Alert.

"We need to alert Hound to the situation. But we don't have enough time to get to him before the Decepticons arrive." Tracer stared in the direction she knew the Decepticons to be coming in from.

"We can get to him, and you're right, there won't be enough time to explain anything. But he needs backup there."

"Protocol dictates…" Red Alert began before Tracer interrupted him.

"Protocol won't help Hound if they find him!" With that, she transformed, weaving through the deserted city towards Hound's location, determined to get to her mentor before the Decepticons did. Grateful that her sensors were more sensitive than the Decepticons were, she was able to pinpoint Hound's exact location and would hopefully be able to warn him before the Decepticons spotted him. Processor focussed on her sensors, she registered the instance the Decepticons appeared on Hound's sensors; how he dropped the holographic disguise he'd been projecting and raised his rifle in preparation for a fight. Transforming immediately, she ducked instinctively as he fired at the tetrajets as they flew low and fast over the city, moving closer when he stopped.

"What the Pit are they doing here?" He asked as she joined him and drew her gun.

"Joining in?"

"Who asked them to join the party?" Hound muttered as they moved to a more sheltered location as three more Decepticon tetrajets flew overhead.

"No idea. Red Alert keeps going on about how they shouldn't even be in the area." She waved back towards where she had left Ultra Magnus and Red Alert. "Regardless of what I told him…" She added, pausing as they took aim at the Seekers as they banked, sending a stream of laser fire in their direction.

"He's right. Wouldn't have scheduled this test if we thought there was going to be activity in this area."

"Well someone's information is wrong!" Tracer snapped back, barely dodging the laser fire aimed at them. "We've not got the firepower to win this Hound. There's too many of them."

"They're blocking our comms.

"I know that!"

"Which one?" She paused, scanning the skies.

"I can't tell… there's too much interference."

"Down!" A concussion bomb threw them both off their feet, Hound's warning coming a fraction too late. Tracer landed heavily on her back, chassis protesting against the impact. Muttering curses under her vocaliser, she managed to climb to her feet, under cover fire provided by Ultra Magnus and Red Alert who had made their way over after the bomb had detonated.

"We need reinforcements." Red Alert said, looking over to Ultra Magnus who was helping Hound to his feet.

"Hound?"

"My sensors aren't calibrated for that sort of detection. Tracer's are."

"I can't get a fix. There's too much interference, too much noise. I can't concentrate." Red Alert's hand landed on her shoulder, pulling her out of the way of laser fire before she heard his voice next to her audios.

"Work through the noise. Believe me, I know what it's like, but you can and you will do it. Just concentrate on scanning and we'll keep the Decepticons occupied."

"Sir…" Cutting through the interference and noise to get a clear reading was difficult, but somehow she managed it, pinpointing the seeker emitting the jamming field. Aiming carefully Tracer fired, the others following suit and together they brought the seeker down to the ground with a trail of smoke.

"Gotcha!"

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While they waited for reinforcements, they hunkered down amongst the remaining debris, hoping that the Decepticons would give up and be on their way. Luck wasn't on their side however and the remaining Decepticons kept up a random pattern of fire that kept the Autobots on guard until reinforcements arrived. Five against four were not good odds, particularly with the Seekers having an aerial advantage. They swooped and shot across the sky above the city, engines screaming and lasers searing the ground. It was all the Autobots could do to avoid getting hit by the barrages, let alone fire back. When the reinforcements arrived, the additional forces meant that it was a simple matter to drive the tetrajets away. As they were escorted back to the Academy, they argued over the presence of the Decepticons in the sector; Red Alert lamenting the evidently poor security perimeter sensors and Ultra Magnus defending them. Thankful that the discussion hadn't turned to her performance, Tracer kept quiet.

"You okay kid?"

"I'm fine Hound. Just a few servos out of place, that's all." It wasn't technically a lie; the dive she'd taken as a result of the concussion bomb had damaged circuits and servos, but that was only minor damage really.

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After they reached the Academy and had been examined and repaired, Tracer found herself standing outside one of the meeting rooms, trying hard not to listen in to the conversation going on inside.

"She's impetuous."

"She lacks experience, that's all."

"I don't want her compromising the safety of my team."

"I doubt that'd happen."

"Besides, you have to admit, she is good."

"Tracking skills not withstanding, she has an attitude problem that needs dealing with."

"And you're just the mech. to deal with it Red Alert."

Outside, she could hear Red Alert reply in the negative and suddenly realised that any chance of a long term assignment had disappeared as soon as she'd back-talked Red Alert and sped off without waiting for them. She slumped in a chair in the corridor, despondent. She looked up as the door slid open and Red Alert stepped out. Jumping up, she knew she at least had to thank him for his help earlier.

"Excuse me, sir?" Red Alert stopped and stared at her. Stammering she thanked him. "I just wanted… I mean, I needed… oh frag it… Thanks for the help you gave me earlier… Sir." Red Alert relaxed and he smiled at her.

"Thanks is not necessary." He replied before turning and walking off down the corridor. Tracer looked up to see Hound leaning against the now closed door.

"I blew it, right?" Hound shook his head and set off down the corridor in the same direction as Red Alert had taken. Tracer paused for a moment before running to keep up with her mentor.

"Hound?" She pleaded as she caught up with him.

"You found me."

"I did, but I also disobeyed orders and froze in the middle of a fire fight."

"And the fact that you recognise that means that we finally get rid of you." Tracer stopped dead in the corridor.

"You mean I didn't blow it?"

"Red ain't too keen on you, but he can see potential. Besides, Red ain't too keen on anyone, that's what makes him good at his job."

"I don't believe it…" She murmured.

"Believe it kid. You got a team now." He handed her a datapad. "There's your confirmation and instructions. You ship out in the morning."

"Oh Primus…" She exhaled quietly, a smile blossoming on her faceplate.

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* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	2. Endurance

Rating: PG  
Warnings: Battlefield violence?  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

* * *

The next morning saw Tracer waiting anxiously in the shuttle bay. She was early, but she wanted to prove to Red Alert that she was responsible, particularly after the events of the previous day. The shuttle and their pilot were ready and waiting. They made idle conversation while they were waiting, Tracer breaking off as she heard footsteps coming down the corridor and she straightened up. 

"Morning Sir." She said crisply as he entered the shuttle bay. Red Alert nodded before following the pilot aboard the shuttle. Reluctantly Tracer followed them, not particularly relishing the trip. It wasn't that she wasn't excited about the assignment, it was more the fact that she wasn't keen on heights and the altitude the shuttles flew at. Not that she would ever admit that if anyone asked. She settled down in her seat, watching the pilot run through the shuttle initiation procedures. Red Alert was seemingly engrossed in reading a datapad, paying little attention to either of them.

The shuttle took off smoothly, making little sound as it cut through the atmosphere, soaring towards Sector G2.

"You left the party early last night." Red Alert broke the silence that had fallen with that statement, not even lifting his optics from his datapad. There had been an impromptu party the previous night; a celebration of her 'promotion' and assignment. She'd stayed long enough to meet everyone there, but had left early.

"Too noisy." She explained. "Audios are particularly sensitive." Red Alert nodded in understanding.

"The music was rather loud."

"Just a bit." She wished she had been able to stay longer, but plenty of experience at the Academy had taught her that staying too long in the vicinity of loud music and such like would result in a trip to the medical bay the next morning for audio recalibration which wasn't the most enjoyable medical procedure she had ever undergone. So she left parties early; avoiding the loud music and the painful recalibration. It wasn't that she didn't like socialising; quite the opposite in fact – she loved it. She just didn't like the recalibrations required after attending functions with loud music. She had endeavoured to spend time at parties, invariably as far away from the sound systems as possible. That seemed to cut down the problems, but it didn't eliminate them. It was a fine balance between enjoying herself and injuring herself.

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The journey was uneventful and the landing was as smooth as the takeoff, much to Tracer's relief. As they disembarked, Tracer looked around her before turning to watch the shuttle lift off again.

"We've still got a way to go." Red Alert motioned her over to an alleyway. "Security; lessens the chance of the Decepticons finding our base." He explained. She followed Red Alert on a convoluted route that took them to the base, trying to keep up and memorise the route at the same time.

"We're here." Red Alert muttered, knocking on a plain wall. Tracer stared in amazement as the wall slid away revealing an entrance. Stepping inside, Red Alert waited until she had moved beside him to press a button. It felt like the floor dropped out from beneath her as the entire room sunk into the ground.

"Let me guess, security?" Tracer asked wryly, resisting the urge to hang on to the walls.

"Exactly." Red Alert nodded approvingly.

Once they'd reached the bottom of the shaft and entered the base proper, Tracer was introduced to the other members of the team; Inferno, Firestar, Rollback and Kicker. Giving each a weak smile and a wave, she suddenly felt out of place and rather small. There was no doubt that she was the smallest; even sitting down, Firestar was taller than her. She listened as Red Alert gave a brief history of each team member and her own, before they briefed Red Alert on what had happened while he was away.

"Kicker, would you give Tracer a tour of the base?" Red Alert interrupted the explanations to beckon a large red mech. forward, who promptly grinned and stared down at Tracer.

"Sure thing."

As soon as the mismatched pair had left, Rollback raised one hand to his optic band and covered it in one swift frustrated motion.

"Primus, what have you done Red? Do I need to look at your cpu again?"

"My processor is perfectly fine Rollback." Red Alert virtually snapped at the team's medic. "Tracer will be a valuable addition to the team."

"She's small. Will that be a problem?" Firestar asked, coming to stand next to Red Alert. "I remember how much fuss you guys made when I joined and she's smaller still."

"She's fast. She may not be able to fight well, but she will certainly be able to outrun any trouble that comes her way."

"Even Kicker?" Inferno smirked.

"Especially Kicker. Primus help him if he tries to race her. Even I had trouble catching up to her."

"He needs taking down a peg or two."

"But she don't do fighting?"

"No, she needs to improve that skill. I would like for you to help her with that Inferno." The large red mech. grinned in reply.

"No problems."

"Don't make more work for me Inferno." Rollback warned.

"Would I do that to ya Rollback?"

"Yes."

"Enough. We've got a full complement again and I don't want to have to replace anyone again." Red Alert made sure the rest of his team had heard him before turning his attentions to the monitors in the command room, checking everything over for himself.

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The base was small; as were all the bases designed and built quickly as strategic outposts for the Search and Rescue teams, so the tour didn't take long.

"So… you're our new tracker eh?"

"Yup."

"So how fast are ya? You look as though you should be pretty quick." Tracer glanced up at him, trying to gauge the reason for the question. She smiled at the impish grin on his faceplates.

"Fast enough to outrun you."

"Oh yeah shortstuff?" He made a move to flick one of the projections standing out from her helmet.

"Oh no you don't! They're too sensitive for playing games with." She snapped, knocking his hand out of the way.

"They make you look like a cybercat." He grinned. "And you're cute when you're angry." Tracer faltered for a moment before laughing.

"And you're one microchip short of a processor!" She retorted.

"Bet you I can still beat your short aft in a race though."

"Doubt it."

"Oooh, it's a challenge kid!"

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Kicker led her out of the base through a different door. Tracer stood and stared; all she could see was a flat expanse for several hics.

"We'll head in that direction. First one to the perimeter fence wins." He explained pointing one large hand in the direction they were planning on heading.

"It's okay to do this?" Tracer suddenly wondered whether racing one of her new team-mates on her first day was the wisest idea she'd ever had.

"Of course. Nothing's gonna happen. And if it does, Red'll let us know in plenty of time."

"Right…"

"Come on then!" Barely giving her any warning, Kicker transformed and set off across the plain.

"Hey!"

Tracer transformed and launched herself after Kicker, quickly catching up to and overtaking him. Veering away from him as he tried to knock her off course, she laughed through the internal comm.

"Told you I was fast."

"Heh. And you weren't kidding either." Tracer sped away from Kicker again, only stopping when she reached the fence. Idling happily after the race, she waited until Kicker drew to a stop and transformed before she did the same.

"Is it always this quiet out here?"

"Normally, it is. We're more likely to get called out to help in the nearby sectors. But sometimes, the Decept's decide to use this area as a training ground or they just want us out of here. Then it's up to us to raise the alarm and pick up the pieces."

"What could they want with this place?" Tracer asked, scanning the area to see if she could determine any reason the Decepticons would want to locate a base in such a desolate area.

"Well, for a start, we've got a pretty big pile of energon sitting out here."

"Yeah, I guess that could be a big incentive."

"But Red Alert's got a good security system, so we get enough warning… normally."

"Normally?"

"Yeah… sometimes we don't get no warning, they circumvent his measures and we have to go kick their afts outta here."

"That sucks tailpipe…" Tracer muttered.

"Heh. Ain't that the truth. But only sometimes. Most the time we're running through the battles, dodging fire and trying to get the wounded to the medics behind the lines. Means we ain't doing the actual fighting, but we sure as Pit are helping! C'mon, we'd best head back before Red realises how far we've gone." He gave Tracer a conspiratorial glance before transforming and heading back to the base at a more sedate pace.

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Despite her initial misgivings, Tracer fitted in well, adjusting to the daily schedules of shift work and monitoring the security grid surrounding their sector. Amongst the shift work and down time were the calls for help. The calls that would have them airlifted to the scene of a battle (or before if the information had been intercepted early enough) for Search and Rescue.

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"Keep your head down and your sensors on full. Any injured Autobot needs pulling out!"

Tracer kept close to Rollback, directing him through their tight-band comm. link and desperately trying to ignore the sounds of the battle raging around her.

"There." She stopped and transformed, instinctively ducking low against the backdrop of missiles, bombs and laser fire that cut through the air.

"I can't see a slagging thing. Ain't even gonna ask how on Cybertron you can." If he could have seen Tracer through the smoke drifting around them, he would have glared at the smirk on her face.

"I'm getting a reading, but it's getting fainter." Worry tinged her vocaliser. There was only one reason the signal strength would be fading this close to the source. "Here Rollback." She pulled on his arm, his larger frame following her slender one through the debris littering what had once been a beautiful part of Cybertron. As the medic went to work, Tracer scanned their surroundings, keeping an optic out for anything unfriendly heading their way.

"Get us an emergency evac. Trace…" Rollback trailed off, large hands working feverishly to stem the flow of coolant and energon from the mangled chassis. Tracer nodded sharply, raising Red Alert on the comm. and informing him of the situation. It seemed only a matter of kliks before she registered the distinctive sound of a jet engine cutting above the sound of the battle. With a gentleness belying his size, Rollback carefully loaded the injured mech. into the carrier.

"Will he make it?" Tracer heard herself say.

"Primus only knows. I think we got to him in time. They'll take him back to Iacon; Ratchet's bound to be able to fix him up."

"Hope so."

"All part of the job kid."

"Sucks tailpipe though."

"Yep. Next?" He waited for Tracer to identify the next casualty in their immediate vicinity. Scanning carefully she pointed, stepping quickly over scrunched metal that used to be buildings to reach the signal.

"Buried..." She murmured, stopping suddenly.

"Slag." Between them they managed to clear away enough of the rubble so that they could access and assess the injured mech. No sooner had they cleared the debris than the mech. came up shooting. Rollback barely managed to push Tracer out of the line of fire as the mech. climbed out and tore past them.

"That's one determined fighter." Tracer remarked, standing up and staring after him.

"They're hardwired that way." Rollback shrugged. "They don't know nothing else. Built for battle and war." He continued in a slightly bitter tone.

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They were always the last to leave the battlefield; Search and Rescue turning into Search and Recovery. Occasionally they found mechs still functioning, but more often than not they collected the deactivated; the materials being needed in the repair bays.

The mood back at their small base was always more sombre after they'd been called out to help. They sat together, huddled tightly, trying to draw comfort from one another. Presence was everything. It was worse if one of them got caught in the cross fire, landing themselves in Ratchet's repair bay. It meant an extended stay at Iacon for all of them, as they refused to leave without the full team. It was accepted and understood without question. It didn't, however, stop them pacing in the corridor outside the repair bay, waiting to hear that they wouldn't need a replacement team member.

The first time Tracer found herself sitting in the corridor watching Inferno pace was when Red Alert had caught a stray laser blast to his chest. Too close to his spark chamber, he'd had off-lined almost immediately, leaving the command of the team in Inferno's hands. Rollback had been called back to do what he could until they could leave and Tracer had found herself paired with Kicker and forced to carry on.

The second time, Tracer paced the corridor behind Inferno. It was Kicker that was lying in stasis inside, cut down by laser fire from a strafing run by Decepticon tetrajets.

"Ain't your fault kid."

"I was meant to be watching the skies while he worked!"

"You and Red both. He ain't blaming himself, so neither should you." Tracer gave Inferno a look that clearly said 'I don't believe you' and pointedly stared at where Red Alert sat slumped against the wall, Firestar crouching beside him and whispering softly.

"'Kay, point taken kid. Some things can't be helped." He flicked one of her 'ears' gently and was rewarded with a clout in the thigh. The resounding clang that echoed down the corridor masked the sound of the doors to the repair bay sliding open.

"Okay, so you finally managed it. I owe you ten units of high-grade Inferno."

"Kicker!" Abandoning all attempts at dignity and ignoring the bet and the residual pain running down from her sensors Tracer launched herself at Kicker.

"Watch it there kid."

"Glad you're okay."

"I'll always be okay. You need someone to keep teasing you."

"And you need someone to keep beating your aft in races."

"Watch it kitty-cat, or I'll be the one flicking those ears next."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?"

"Yeah, you would… always said you were one microchip short of a processor." The friendly insults continued while they were airlifted back to their base.

Tracer fervently hoped there wouldn't be a third time.

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* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	3. Battles lost

Summary: This is the back-story for my OC Tracer. Things quieten down in the war on Cybertron but the Decepticons enter the wrong sector resulting in a battle fought and won and a discovery made  
Warnings: Battlefield violence  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

I would also like to thank **flamingmarsh** for her dedication! Oh, and also... the threesome can be blamed (in the nicest possible way) on 'apathocles'

* * *

It had been quiet; too quiet if Red Alert's mutterings were anything to go by. The longer they went without a report of Decepticon activity, the more paranoid he got. 

"Red, it's a good thing they ain't focussing here."

"Inferno's right. Gives us chance to upgrade and actually relax for a while." Firestar tried calming him down. Tracer just watched, there was little she could do. She caught Inferno's optics and he tilted his head, transmitting on a private frequency that she should leave; that he and Firestar had it covered. And that it might be an idea to keep everyone else occupied. Ducking her head to hide a smile, Tracer left, not wanting to intrude. Even after all this time, she still hadn't quite worked out the dynamics of the relationship between Inferno, Red Alert and Firestar. And she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to try to work it out. As long as they were all happy, the rest of the team was happy.

She left the room, wondering what to do now. On their infrequent downtime, Tracer found herself practicing hand to hand combat with Inferno or Kicker, sometimes Firestar who would teach her how to defend herself, where as the mechs would teach her how to attack. Both were good, she reflected, even if the attack-training sessions tending to leave Rollback fuming at the dents and scrapes they all acquired. Admittedly he had his own ways of subtle revenge; all in the good name of teaching them new techniques in field repairs.

88088088088088088

Pondering what to do meant she wasn't concentrating so hard on her sensors, enabling Kicker to sneak up on her.

"Hey kid." Hiding the slight stumble fairly successfully, she glared up at him.

"How can someone your size sneak up on me?"  
"You weren't paying attention again kid." Tracer grimaced. Red Alert had spent time with her when she first joined, teaching and helping her avoid losing concentration in battle situations where there was a lot of noise and interference. That sort of situation, much like parties, played havoc with her sensitive sensor array, meaning she found it difficult to focus properly. But with Red Alert's help, she had managed to increase her focus and dampen down her sensors slightly to make it easier to function. The one apparent side-effect of these lessons was that she would get now easily not focus on her sensors when she was completing other tasks. Something that Kicker (and Inferno) was always keen to take advantage of. The mere fact that he was twice her size and could still sneak up on her amused him greatly. Of course, it hadn't amused Rollback the first time he had done it. The poor medic found out exactly how effective the training sessions with Inferno and Kicker had been when Kicker limped into the repair bay. His comment of 'you got slagged by a Minibot?' followed by raucous laughter had not gone down at all well with Kicker. Tracer on the other hand, eavesdropping outside had moved away quickly, lest her laughter be overheard.

"Up for a run across the plains?" He asked, a glint in his optics, interrupting her thoughts.

"Sure." She shrugged. "Just gimme a klik to check the security grid. I don't want to come back to Rollback throwing a fit because Red's had a meltdown. Oh… and we ought to let him know to keep himself to himself… if you know what I mean?"

"Course not and yeah, he might wanna know that." He grinned trailing behind her, as she checked the security system, making sure there were no anomalies before turning to the communications system and leaving a message for Rollback to stay in the med. Bay for the foreseeable future. Finished, she turned to Kicker.

"All yours. If you can catch me!" She said as she transformed and disappeared down the corridor, something that they weren't normally allowed to do, but figuring that Red Alert was otherwise occupied and wouldn't know, she decided to flout the rules.

"That's cheating!"

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Blue against red, large chasing small, they flew across the plains at speeds far higher than they should. They didn't drive blind, both keeping an eye on their sensor readings, Red Alert's paranoia having suffused itself through the team. Tracer cut her engines as they reached the mountain range that marked this extent of Sector G2.

"Same as always, I win." Tracer transformed and stretched, waiting for Kicker to reach her location. He huffed before transforming, towering over her. He paused as she held up a hand.  
"Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I can hear… I'm getting Decepticon energy signatures."

"This far out?" She nodded. "I don't like that. Why hasn't the sensor grid picked them up?" Tracer shrugged in reply.

"I have no idea. Maybe the mountains? All I know is they're here."

"Slag."

"Yep." Tracer paused, activating her comm. system. "Slag… I can't raise the base." Kicker stared at her.

"I definitely don't like that. I'll head back; raise the alarm and bring the rest of them out here. Me and Inferno'll get them."

"That's a given. I'll stay here and monitor them. Red ain't gonna like that the sensor grid's malfunctioned." She watched as Kicker transformed and speeded back in the direction they had come from.

88088088088088088

By the time the rest of the team arrived, Tracer had located the position of all the Decepticons she could detect.

"You've all but named them all." Inferno muttered, eliciting laughs out of the rest of the team.

"Had to do something while you took your time getting here." She retorted good-naturedly, staring up at Inferno. Who promptly lightly cuffed her round the back of the head.

"Ow, hey!" She glared at him before turning serious. "Red… there's something else there, but I can't make sense of the readings I'm getting." Red Alert focussed in on the area she indicated and for the first time since she'd joined the team, Tracer heard Red Alert swear in public.

"Red?"

"It's Soundwave." Curses were echoed all round, only Tracer seemed to be in the dark as to the reasons. "This is going to have to be quick and deadly." He quickly outlined the plan to them, nodding as they took their positions. Kicker grabbed Tracer's arm as she passed him.

"Stick close to Inferno or me, don't let him know you're there." He warned, a pleading tone entering his vocaliser. Puzzled by the warning, she crouched next to him and waited.

"Who is Soundwave?"

"Soundwave is the Decepticon's number 3, master communicator and tracker. He's got better audios than Red. We wondered what he was doing; he hadn't been seen in battle for several stellar-cycles." Tracer felt her spark sink, suddenly realising that Soundwave probably already knew they were coming. Red Alert's short nod as she glanced over at him confirmed her suspicions. It seemed like a suicidal run.

"But why do I need to keep clear of him?" Even to her own audios, she sounded like a petulant sparkling.

"Because he won't hesitate to interrogate and break ya and use your skills against us." Beginning to wish she'd never asked, she looked around suddenly nervous.

"Take it as a compliment…" Firestar commed her. "You're the best at what you do and Soundwave is good at taking the best and using it to his advantage. Besides, I doubt Inferno or Kicker would let anything happen to you if they could help it." Tracer didn't have chance to process a reply; caught up in the battle as Red Alert ordered the charge and they rushed down to meet the Decepticons head on. Judging from the immediate barrage of weapons fire as they crested the pass, they knew and were expecting the small team of Autobots. Through the laser fire and smoke, she caught sight of the large blue mech. standing impassively at the rear of the battle. Putting him out of her processor, she ducked and rolled to avoid a Decepticon firing at her, before firing back. She was unaware that his optics never left her form as she moved through the battlefield, firing shots where she could. She could hear Inferno and Kicker yelling loudly, almost rejoicing in the destruction they were causing. She could hear the impacts of every single weapon; the crunch of metal as it folded under the impact, the spatter of energon and coolant as it landed on the ground. The cries, the screams, the barked orders and finally, cutting through the noise, an order to retreat.

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She landed on her knees, thrown out of the way by a retreating Decepticon. Watching them fall back, she inadvertently locked optics with Soundwave.

"I know of you." She had never heard him speak, yet she knew it was his voice she could hear. "You are mine." Before he turned he raised his arm, sending a wave of harmonics across the battlefield; creating static and disrupting audios and communications. Shocked, Tracer stayed on her knees, any strength she had left suddenly draining out of her as the noise infiltrated her audios. Disorientated, she staggered when Rollback helped her up and grabbed onto his arm lest she fall over. She could see Red Alert having a similar problem; Inferno holding him up.

"Come on now. We've got to get away from here." She could just hear Rollback speak and nodded, managing to place one foot in front of the other without falling over.

"We need outta here now!" Kicker roared. Before her stabilisers could adjust to being upright, Tracer found herself slung unceremoniously over Rollback's shoulder strut.

88088088088088088

"Put me down!" Red Alert's shriek of outrage sounded in her audios, thoroughly convincing her that they were indeed working again.

"Damage report?" Firestar asked, looking over them all.

"Minimal."

"Nothing here."

"I'll be better when I'm back on the ground." Holding back a laugh, Rollback gently lifted her off his shoulder and returned her to the ground before continuing. "There's not much damage Firestar. Self-repair systems can take care of most of it."

"We should have taken more damage. We were outnumbered." Red Alert sounded puzzled.

"Let's not worry about that until we get back to base."

"But…"

"Red! Not now. Let's just get back to base and report to Prime. He needs to know." Inferno snapped, worry tinging his tone.

88088088088088088

They were all sitting around in the common room, trying to relax. Inferno had brought out some high-grade and they were trying to ignore the nagging doubts that had arisen as a result of the battle earlier. Tracer was leaning up against Inferno, contentedly sipping her high-grade and listening to the others chatter. She heard Red Alert enter the room and slump in a chair, muttering his thanks as Firestar passed him some high-grade.

"What did Prime say?"

"Not much he could say. I don't understand how he managed to hack into the security grid to evade detection. We need to find out where they've gone and what they're doing here."

"Which we'll help out with tomorrow. It's not our sector. Relax Red, we're allowed to recover from our injuries." Firestar pressed him back down into his seat as he made to get up, leaving her hands resting on his shoulders.

"I heard him…" Tracer began stopping suddenly as Inferno sat straight upright and she fell backwards into the space left behind him.

"What?"

"Before we left. I heard him."

"That ain't good."

"No, I must inform Optimus of this. It may well be that for your safety we have to move you."

"What?"

"That won't do no good. If he wants her that bad, he'll get her wherever she is. More sense if she stays here where we can protect her and not where he can actually do some real damage."

"Erm… I'm still here guys. And I'm not going anywhere." Five pairs of optics turned to stare at her at the sound of determination in her vocaliser. "I'm here to do my job, same as the rest of you. Don't see any of you running scared, so why should I?"

"Kid's got a point. Besides, next big battle, we're gonna need her to find everyone."

"Fine. Just be on your guard. I don't want to have to replace any member of this team again." Red Alert drained the rest of his high-grade and left the room.

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880880880880880880088088088088088088

* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	4. Battles won

Warnings: Torture (nothing graphic or too painful)  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

* * *

It wasn't until a stellar-cycle and several large battles later that the Search and Rescue team would see Soundwave in battle again. It was only when Rollback nearly tripped over a suddenly stationary Tracer that they realised something was amiss. He put a hand on her shoulder to steady himself whilst scanning her for any injuries.

"Trace?"

"He's here. I can feel him."

"Slag. Red, we got a problem!" Rollback quickly transmitted what Tracer had told him to Red Alert and the rest of the team, thoroughly surprised as Inferno and Kicker appeared beside them mere astroseconds later.

"How did you get here so fast?"

"Red says that Soundwave hasn't given any sign that he's noticed she's here. Him and Firestar are gonna keep an optic on him. Meanwhile, me and Kicker gonna keep our optics on you." Inferno didn't answer Rollback's question and focussed on Tracer. "You okay kid?"

"I'll be fine. We've just got to get on with it, right?"

"Sure. You just say if he gets too close to ya?"

"Sure."

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Soundwave stayed on the edge of her sensors for breems, never moving closer, but staying just close enough that she registered his presence as constant.

"He's always there." She muttered to Kicker as Inferno and Rollback worked to stabilise a downed mech.

"We ain't gonna let him get to you kid." He tried to reassure her.  
"Down!" She shouted, registering tetrajets in the air heading towards their position. They dived out of the way as laser fire scorched the ground between them.

"Fragging 'Cons!" Kicker cursed as he fired back at the tetrajets, distracting them from Rollback and Inferno.

"Kicker…" Tracer faltered as the air around her suddenly seemed cloyingly thick. Her sensors couldn't penetrate it and that disturbed her. She ducked as laser fire riddled the ground again, looking up only to see a look of horror on Kicker's faceplate. She barely had time to process anything before he collapsed in a blaze of flames. Starting towards him, Tracer was stopped short as pain exploded in her shoulder joint, lancing through every circuit and wire, sending her into a forced stasis.

88088088088088088

Stifling a cry of pain as her systems rebooted, Tracer did a quick external sensor sweep, which turned out to be very limited. Wherever she was, she wasn't on the battlefield anymore. Optics came online and she could see she was in a cell, presumably on a Decepticon base somewhere. Where, she couldn't tell; sensors dampened by fields around the room. She was hanging from energon chains attached to the wall and a small shift in her position told her that her shoulder wound had not been repaired. Not that she expected anything less. Communications were evidently out as she took inventory of the torn wiring in her arm. The sound of the door being opened drew her attention and she looked up to see Soundwave standing in the doorway.

"Slag." She muttered to herself.

"Talk irrelevant. Information required."

"Oh please, like I'd tell you anything." She managed to get out, fighting the urge to shy away as he advanced towards her.

"I know how good your sensors are. We could use you." Tracer shook her head, trying to rid herself of the voice that seemed to caress her audios with its tones.

"Frag off." She gasped as the energon chains were shut off and she dropped to the floor. Finally she gave in to the temptation to back away from him, scrambling across the floor to get herself as far away from him as she could.

"I would prefer not to damage you, but if you leave me no choice…" Soundwave left the unspoken threat hanging in the air.

"I am an Autobot, nothing you can say or do will make me change my allegiance." She stared up at him defiantly, nowhere left to move as she had backed up against the wall. She was trapped, hands splayed against the wall as though it would part beneath her fingers. Desperately she scanned to see if she could run but he was too close to make another move to escape.

"We shall see." Achingly slowly, he placed a hand on her helmet and suddenly, she could feel him inside her processor. She tried to wriggle out of his hold, but his grip was too strong. She ended up holding onto his wrist, trying to force his hand away but he was bigger and stronger than her and his grip was more than strong enough to hold her in place, yet gentle enough to not do any major damage. Quickly putting up firewall after firewall, she tried to evade him on a mad chase through her own circuits. Systematically, he broke through every barrier she managed to put up. She was so intent on stopping him from accessing any part of her system that she failed to notice him move. She only registered the movement as his fingers clamped down on the edge of her right sensory projection, the pressure setting pain relays firing throughout her system and distracting her. Reflexively, she pulled away and tried to wrench herself away from him, but his grip on her helmet was too firm. She struggled, but was unable to break free. Wincing as his grip tightened, she stilled momentarily as he resumed his hack before renewing her futile struggle.

88088088088088088

The constant preventative measures she was having to implement, coupled with the fact that her systems were still trying to repair her injuries meant that all too soon warnings were flashing red in her optics. Tracer could feel her reserves slipping away and knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. Pain warnings were elevating at a rate she'd never seen and her energon levels were being drained at the same rate.

"You cannot win this fight." Soundwave intoned, breaking easily through the last of the firewalls she had managed to put up.

"Maybe not. But neither will you." She struggled to get the sentence out, activating a feedback loop as he tried to push further into her systems. His momentary surprise was enough that she could pull away from him finally, dropping to the floor, too close to stasis for comfort.

He took one step towards her before they were interrupted by the sound of a klaxon and laser fire. Through the noise, Tracer could hear footsteps racing their way. More Decepticons coming to finish her off? Her spark seemed to freeze momentarily at the thought before the wall caved in and she registered Inferno's energy signature on her limited sensors. The sigh of relief she gave out sounded more like a strangled moan of pain and it was enough to make Inferno cross the room rapidly, virtually throwing Soundwave to one side before carefully picking up and cradling Tracer in his arms. There were some advantages to being a Minibot after all.

"Hang tight kid, we're getting you outta here."

"'Ferno?"

"I'm here kid. And the rest of the team's waiting for ya." He shifted her weight easily in his arms, bringing his rifle to bear as he made his way back out of the cell. Tracer gave up the battle to stay online and sunk into stasis.

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880880880880880880088088088088088088

* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	5. Reunited

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

* * *

A quick self-diagnostic when she onlined again told her that she was repaired. However there was a signal intrusion she didn't recognise and she immediately placed a firewall in its path.

"Get that fragging firewall back down!" Struggling to remember what had happened, she identified the voice and removed the firewall.

"That's better." She could hear Ratchet move away and mutter something under his vocaliser. "And don't even think of overstretching those sensors yet." He ordered before she could even attempt to try.

"Yessir." She answered, relieved when her vocaliser came out sounding fairly normal.

"How far in did Soundwave get?"

"He didn't."

"No access at all?" Tracer could hear the skepticism in his vocaliser and powered up her optics, readjusting them to compensate for the harsh light in the repair bay before shaking her head and trying to sit up.

"Careful now." Ratchet reprimanded in a soft tone, helping her to a seated position on the repair berth.

"Too many firewalls." Ratchet laughed at that, his relief evident.

"Red Alert's paranoia rubbing off on you I see."

"Evidently." She retorted, before catching herself. "Sorry Sir." Ratchet shrugged off her apology with a quick wave of his hand.

"Now, I still need that diagnostic to complete, so you are going to sit there quietly for the next breem and not move a servo otherwise I will disable all your motor functions."

"Yes Sir." She sat quietly for a moment, listening to the low hum of the machines around her before starting suddenly, nearly dislodging the wires attached to her and earning her a swift reprimand from Ratchet.

"Kicker!"

"What?"

"In the battle… Kicker went down in flames… I…" She trailed off as Ratchet placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"The rest of your team are just fine. They'll be back before long. I sent them off to get some recharge before I disassembled them."

"Sir?"

"You've got some good friends there kid." The diagnostic equipment bleeped once, indicating the end of the tests. Carefully, Ratchet disconnected the wires and tidied the equipment away before turning his attention back to Tracer.

"I've replaced your communications systems and reworked your sensor array. Didn't have much choice with the damage that was done, so it'll be overly sensitive for a few cycles but that will fade. Your shoulder joint will probably be stiff for a joor or so." Running scans, he got her to move and test the shoulder joint before standing back, apparently satisfied. "The tests came up clean, but if you notice any ghosting or glitches, anything unusual, report back here immediately. For now, I'm clearing you for light duties. Just don't overstretch those sensors yet!"

"Excellent!" Unnoticed by either of them, Inferno and Firestar had made their way into the repair bay and at Ratchet's pronouncement, Inferno had let out an enthusiastic exclamation. Tracer smiled widely as Ratchet stepped aside and she could see them.

"Ready to go home kid?"

88088088088088088

Inferno had half-dragged-half-carried Tracer away from the repair bay, leaving Firestar to placate Ratchet.

"You really okay kid?"

"As far as I know…"

"Had us all scared back there you know. One klik you're there, the next you ain't." Tracer shrugged; there wasn't really much she could say to that.

"Was scared too." She managed, walking as close to Inferno as she could drawing comfort from his closeness.

"Held up well though. Should have heard Red when he found out. Alternated between wanting to go out and tear Soundwave a new exhaust port and congratulating you for putting up such a fight."

"How did you find me?"

"Ah, now that's where Red comes in. You see, he's kinda got trackers implanted in our systems as it turns out. Only him and Rollback knew about that."

"Has he been taking lessons from Hound or something?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. Have to say I'm glad he's paranoid."

"Rest of the teams gonna be pleased Ratchet's released you so soon. They gave us a dorm. to stay in while you recovered, but it's gonna be so good getting back to base."

"Inferno… is Kicker really okay? Last I remember before… was him going down in flames."

"Ah he just singed a bit of armor, that's all. Took out four tetrajets all by himself when he realised you were gone."

"Wow."

"Yeah wow, ain't ever seen him shoot so well before."

"Yeah, like you can shoot that well Inferno." Tracer gave an undignified squeal as she found herself being swept off her feet by Kicker who had come out to meet them. "And how's our little cybercat?"

"If she weren't so pleased to see you in one piece, she'd have her claws out." Tracer retorted, relaxing in his arms.

"Heh, that's our Tracer."

"Glad to have you back kid." He murmured, so that only she could hear. The camaraderie and shared experiences they had built up since Tracer had joined made them close in a way that made the team seem like her family. And she was glad to be back in the midst of it.

"Now all we gotta do is wait for Red to get back then we can head for our base." Inferno said, waiting for Kicker to enter their temporary dorm. He followed them in and sat down.

"You can let me down now Kicker."

"Nah… more fun like this!"

"Kicker, let the poor kid down. I don't want to be explaining to Ratchet how you got yourself slagged by a Minibot." Rollback said, not looking up from the datapad he was reading.

"Like our little kitty would do that." Kicker laughed, staring down at Tracer, optics widening when he saw the evil grin on her face. He promptly dropped her on the floor.

"Hey! I'm gonna get you back for that!"

"Shouldn't have dropped her like that Kicker."

"Darn right. I'm recovering you know." Tracer stared up at Kicker, poking his thigh plating.

"Ow. Little fingers do not belong there!" Rollback laughed at Kicker's feigned outrage and pain.

"Good to have you back Trace."

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If Red Alert was the least bit surprised when he returned to the dormitory nearly a joor later, he didn't let it show on his faceplates. His team was sprawled out on the floor, deep in recharge looking more like a bunch of innocent sparklings than battle-hardened rescuers. Rollback and Kicker were slumped against one another whilst Firestar was sprawled across Inferno's lap. Tracer had managed to curl up in the impossibly small space between Inferno and Kicker. Red Alert raised an optic ridge and wondered if he ought to take a dataprint of the scene in front of him.  
"They will slag your aft if they find out." Inferno spoke up, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Red Alert smiled back and moved quietly towards him as Inferno patted the ground next to him.

"I don't think you all realise how adorable you look like this."

"Come be adorable with us then and shut up." Red Alert sat down carefully next to Inferno, not wanting to disturb any of them.

"I can certainly see what Kicker means about her looking like a cybercat."

"I heard that." Tracer onlined her optics briefly to glare at Red Alert before stretching and settling back down. Red Alert completely ignored her glare and relaxed against Inferno, resting one hand on Firestar's arm and drifted into recharge.

The team was whole again.

88088088088088088

880880880880880880088088088088088088

* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	6. Torn Apart

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

* * *

The war dragged on for another vorn before energon became scarce. Battles were fewer because of this and the focus of the war turned from battles and destruction to energy collection and raiding if necessary. It was more a case of defence and self-preservation that it had ever been before.

Patrols were increased and Red Alert was becoming more paranoid with every passing joor. They made several modifications to the security grid to ensure that they weren't taken by surprise. The store of energon they had left was larger than most and they were told that they were at risk for a raid. Routine patrols became steadily more dangerous.

"We're running the gauntlet every time we step outta that door." Kicker muttered as he and Tracer returned from a patrol and headed straight for the repair bay.

"I know. But there ain't nothing we can do about it Kicker."

"Problems?" Red Alert was waiting in the repair bay for them.

"We're getting slagged every time they find us."

"Kicker! What he means is they're finding us too easily." Red Alert narrowed his optics.

"Too easily?"  
"They find us within a breem Red." Kicker replied as Rollback started work on Tracer's injuries.

"They'll find us soon if we're not too careful."

"We are being careful. I don't know how more careful we can be." Red Alert leant against the berth Kicker had heaved himself on to.

"Neither do I. But I'm telling you, they'll find us. We take a different route each time we leave and come back yet they're still on our tailpipes within a breem!"

"I shall make sure the security grid covers as much area as possible."

"We're delaying th' inevitable Red. They're gonna find us sooner or later."

"I know…" The admission from Red Alert made the other three pause momentarily. Rollback's laser scalpel almost dropped from his fingers as he stared at Red Alert. "But we will not go down without a fight."

"That's for sure!" Kicker agreed.

"We just need to be prepared."

"You're telling me." Kicker replied, a pointed look at Tracer.

"Hey, I can fight!"

"Yeah… against one Decepticreep maybe."

"It wasn't my fault they took advantage of my size."

"Ain't saying it were. Just that you should have run like I told ya."

"I was not going to leave you to fight them all by yourself!"

"Okay you two, stop it!" Rollback ordered. "I am not having arguments about who can fight better. You both got slagged as far as I can see."

"He's got a point." Kicker conceded. "Besides, you were doing a pretty good job out there kid."

"Of course I'm right." Rollback muttered. "Right, you're all done Trace… recharge and take it easy, please?"

"I'll need a full report Tracer." Red Alert requested before he left.

"You'll get it before I turn in." Tracer promised on behalf of herself and Kicker, before settling down on the berth to wait for Rollback to finish repairing Kicker.

88088088088088088

It seemed to happen so quickly, Tracer reflected afterwards. 'Sooner or later' had turned out to be about an orn and they barely had any warning.

Firestar and Red Alert had not long returned from patrol and having been quickly patched up by Rollback, had settled down to recharge in their quarters. Inferno and Rollback had headed out on the next patrol leaving Kicker and Tracer on guard at the base. Tracer reviewed the reports from Iacon while Kicker kept an optic on the console monitoring the security grid.

"Still no sign of Soundwave I see."

"Huh?"

"I said, still no sign of Soundwave."

"Good. Little fragger..." Kicker trailed off, muttering under his vocaliser.

"Looks like Prime is planning an expedition off world to look for more sources of energy."

"Slag. Didn't realise we were that low." It was always the same when they were on duty together. Tracer would read the reports and relay the information to Kicker in a more understandable form. He was better at picking up things on the readouts far quicker than she was.

"Yeah. They're asking for volunteers."

"Bet ya Prime's already got a list of those he wants with him."

"Probably. Couldn't hurt to volunteer though. What do you reckon? See some new places?"

"Maybe… wait a klik…" Kicker lapsed into silence as he studied the monitor. "Tracer, get Red Alert up here now." He didn't look over his shoulder, knowing she'd do it, instead switching to long-range communications. "Inferno… Inferno, do you read me?" He paused, waiting for a reply. He got nothing but static. "Slag it all to the Pit and back." He swore, hitting the base alarm button.

"Kicker?" Red Alert started his questioning as soon as he entered the command center.

"Red, we got Decepticons incoming and they're coming in hot."

"I had hoped we would have more time. Have you called Inferno and Rollback back?"

"Tried. Comms are being blocked. Can't get nothing but static."

"Which way are they coming in?" Firestar asked, putting down an armful of weapons.

"From the north."

"That doesn't leave us much in the way of options."

"Suggestions?"

"Rig the tower for detonation."

"We don't have the…!" Kicker began, only to be cut off mid-sentence as the proximity alarm began blaring. "… Time." He finished, cutting the alarm off. "Anything we do has gotta be done fast."

"And without letting them know exactly where we are." Tracer finished for him. Red Alert looked around the remaining members of his team.

"We've got no choice but to stay and defend the energon. We cannot let the Decepticons get it."

"Let's show 'em why it ain't wise to mess with us." Kicker announced, picking up the largest weapon in the pile.

"Tracer, keep monitoring the comm. frequencies. As soon as there's any chance of getting a call out to Iacon, do it." They were interrupted in their hasty planning by the sounds of explosions from above.

"Slag, they know where we are."

"Places!" They all grabbed weapons from the pile Tracer and Firestar had brought in and took positions around the room as best they could. From Red Alert and Kicker's estimates, this would be the place they would break through in to.

"How many?"  
"Too many."

As the ceiling caved in, the room seemed to explode into a blaze of fire and noise. The Seekers came through firing at anything and everything that moved. The Autobots had to duck and wait before they were able to return fire. Soon all Tracer could hear was the noise of the guns and rifles and cannons going off. All she could see was smoke and fire and warped metal. Then as her pain sensors registered an overload, she saw and heard nothing more.

88088088088088088

880880880880880880088088088088088088

* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	7. Rebuilt

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.

* * *

When her optics came back online, she immediately registered the silver color in front of her optics. She could feel nothing and could only see what she presumed was straight ahead of her. Every sensor seemed to be offline and the sights she could see and the sounds she could hear didn't seem to make any sense.

"Don't move now. We've turned your internal sensors off while everything is rebuilt." Rebuilt?

"Re…ilt?" She managed to vocalise, taken by surprise at the scratchiness of her vocaliser. She accessed her memory banks trying to find out what had happened. Then in a flood of data, she remembered. The darkness, the fire, the shots, the cries, the metal falling, the screams, the laughter, the silence.

"Take it easy… slag it all!"

88088088088088088

The silver was still there when her optics rebooted. Simple sensors were now back online and she could detect a presence at her side. Scanning the energy signature she tried to sit up.  
"Stay right there kid." Inferno laid a hand on her shoulder, keeping her immobile on the repair berth. "Ratchet, she's back online."  
"Good. Don't let her sit up or do anything. I'll be right there."

"'Ferno?"

"Right here kid. Ain't going nowhere either." Memories filtered through her processor.

"They got the energon didn't they?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"They did. But you all sure put up one helluva fight." Images jumped in front of her optics and she tried to prioritise the questions she wanted to ask.

"The others?"

"All here and still functioning."

"Good."

"Half the Decepticons ain't though."

"How many were there?"

"In all? Twelve. You lot took out seven before the base collapsed."

"Wow."

"I'll say. Didn't think there would be any of you left, but Rollback swore he could detect energy signatures under all that mess."

"Glad he's got better sensors than you." Tracer quipped, smiling at Inferno.

"I'd take offence at that if it weren't true." Inferno smiled, patting Tracer gently on the shoulder before moving out of the way to allow Ratchet to begin his examination.

88088088088088088

"Why do we always end up with the same dorm.?"

"How can you tell it's the same one Kicker? They all look alike to me."

"Says the master tracker…"

"Location kid… and the fact that I carved my name above this berth."

"You shouldn't have done that Kicker."  
"What you gonna do Red? Report me?"

"… No…"

"Well then. Besides, I know you etched your names on the wall in one of the supply rooms." Kicker lingered on the word 'names', shooting meaningful glances at Inferno and Firestar. Firestar ducked her head and Inferno just smiled back lazily.  
"He's just jealous Red."

"Am not."

"Are too!"

"Primus, please… can I not recharge in peace?" Rollback sat straight up, levelling them all with a glare. Apologies given, he settled back down on his berth. Tracer climbed up beside him and settled back against him.

"What are we going to do now?"  
"The Council of Elders is not going to approve a new base at this time, so we will no doubt be reassigned to different units."

"What? That just sucks tailpipe. They can't split us up."

"They can and they probably will. The resources are not available to keep the Search and Rescue teams operational. The war has moved away from the battleground and on to the hunt for energy."

"You're thinking of volunteering aren't you?" Rollback spoke up, not even bothering to online his optics.

"I am, yes."

"What? Red… you can't be serious?" Firestar sounded surprised and Tracer nudged Rollback.

"I need to stretch my legs." She announced, looking straight at Kicker.

"Huh?"

"Come on… little cybercat needs protecting remember?" She said, hopping down from Rollback's berth, ignoring his snort as he sat up and standing in front of Kicker.

Once outside the door, Tracer vented a sigh.

"Diplomatic kid, real diplomatic."  
"Hey, do you want to be around while they argue?"

"Trace is right Kicker. There are some things we just don't need to hear. That being one of them." Rollback pointed a thumb back at the dorm. room. "What now?"

"I guess we wander around until they argue themselves into an interface and it's safe to go back."

"Sweet Primus. Kicker, I did so not need that image!"

88088088088088088

As it turned out, Rollback, Kicker and Tracer didn't make it back to their dorm. Instead, they found themselves in Maccadam's Old Oil House. Since the war had started, Maccadam's had become a retreat for many; a place where factions didn't matter and fighting was strictly against the rules. Now, there were few clientele that dared to come in to enjoy what little high-grade there was left. Against all odds, there had been only Autobots in that evening, so the atmosphere was more relaxed. Settling themselves down at a table, Rollback ordered some high-grade and they prepared to spend the evening enjoying themselves and trying to ignore that their team was about to be broken up. Tracer found herself watching the others in the establishment while they were waiting for the energon to be delivered to their table. Beside her, Kicker waved to a group of mechs that had just entered.

"Sideswipe, over here!" He called out.

"Oh Primus." Rollback muttered. "It's the Twins." Tracer looked up to see two large solidly built mechs walking over to their table.

"Twins?"

"Warriors. Vicious both on and off the battlefield by all accounts." Rollback explained, shaking his head. "Figures that aft-head would know them." He nodded at Kicker who was still engrossed in gaining the Twins' attention.

"Hey guys, grab a seat." The two mechs sat down; the red one with a smile, the yellow one with a glare. "Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, lemme introduce to some of the team. Rollback, our medic." Rollback smiled warily at the Twins. "And this is our tracker, Tracer."

"Pleasure." Drawled the red one. "I'm Sideswipe and the grumpy one here is Sunstreaker."  
"Frag off."

"What did I tell you?"

"What brings you two here?"

"We're getting a transfer. Off the battlefield and into space. Prime wanted us on this mission of his." Sideswipe explained. Sunstreaker simply sat there, staring moodily into his cube of high-grade.

"You too eh?"

"What?"

"Our team's gonna be split up and Red wants in on that mission."

"You're on that paranoid little freak's team?" Sunstreaker's voice was anything but amused. Tracer found herself defending Red Alert before her processor even realised she'd vocalised.

"Take that back you glitch of a Pit spawn!" Silence descended on the table and her processor caught up with her, reminding her that it wasn't necessarily the best idea to insult two of Cybertron's most vicious warriors. "… uh, please?" She added, sinking slightly in her seat. If looks could kill, she would have been deactivated and disassembled for spare parts with the glare Sunstreaker turned on her. Sideswipe just laughed.

"Trace… did your logic circuits just fail?" Rollback hissed at her, not daring to take his optics off the Twins.

"Kid's got some nerve. I like that." Sideswipe practically leered at Tracer.

"Heh, that's an understatement." Kicker laughed. "Besides, even if she did insult ol' Sunstreaker over there, she's more than fast enough to get away before he could scrap her."

"Faster than us? Sounds like a challenge." Sideswipe grinned, leaning across the table. "You as fast as he says?"

"She's faster than you all right, I'd bet a quart of high-grade on it."

"A quart?" Sunstreaker entered the conversation, vocaliser cold and haughty.

"Yup." Kicker nodded. "She can beat both your afts in a race."

"Kicker!" Tracer wasn't sure if she or Rollback hissed louder, but he stopped and stared at both of them, offering a small shrug and a smile before turning back to the Twins.

"I can't believe he's using me to win a bet." She muttered.

"Believe it Trace, this is Kicker after all."

"True." She sipped the rest of her high-grade while she listened to the three of them make plans on where to hold the race. "I really don't have much choice in this do I?"

"Nope."

"Slag... I hope he's right."

"So do I. I doubt Ratchet would be pleased to put you back together after they're through with you."

"They wouldn't?"

"Trace, there's a reason why they're Cybertron's best warriors… they're psychotic."

"Okay kid, come on." Tracer and Rollback were interrupted from their quiet conversation by Kicker standing up and virtually pulling Tracer out of the door.

88088088088088088

Kicker was practically crowing with delight, bouncing around as though he were a sparkling again.

"Kicker, if you don't stop that, I swear to Primus I will disconnect your motor functions." Rollback didn't look up from where he was hastily patching up a coolant leak in Tracer's side.

"But the kid won. She won. She beat the Twins!"

"What else did you expect?" Tracer managed to squeeze out.

"Well… I knew you were fast kid, but those two have… had… the record for that course!"

"You're just lucky she only tore a coolant line going that fast. Especially after what you've just been through."

"Rollback, it's fine."

"Don't 'it's fine' me Trace. I'm the one that's fixing up the damage and I say it ain't fine. You've just got to hope Red doesn't hear about this."

"Well it wasn't my idea!"

"Yeah, but the kid was defending Red."

"Whatever. That's it. You're done Trace."

"Thanks." Tracer accepted the hand Rollback offered, the race having taken up most of her remaining energy reserves. "I honestly thought Sunstreaker was going to slag me…"

"I think he was. Just be glad that Sideswipe thinks you're cute." Kicker replied, slapping Tracer on the back.

"Oh Primus…" She groaned. "Can we just get back to the dorm. before I go into stasis? And don't even think of carrying me!" She added.

"Can't blame me for wanting to help our champion."

"Kicker?"

"Yeah kid?"  
"Shut the frag up."

88088088088088088

880880880880880880088088088088088088

* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	8. Long lost reunions

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: This is where things begin to converge… I'm taking elements from the cartoon series here (specifically 'The Search for Alpha Trion'). And for the purposes of this story, I'm kinda trying to forget that 'The Ultimate Doom' actually brought Cybertron close enough for the occupants to notice… 'Oh, hey look, this ginormous blue-green planet just showed up on sensors Elita One' rolls eyes And it so wasn't explained in the series either!  
And yes, I slightly rewrote the episode… I hate the fact that Elita One is so pathetic she needs to ask Alpha Trion for advice when she knows the Decepticons have found their base… growls Equality, please! Okay, I'll stop grouching and let you read now…

* * *

It wasn't long until they had all been reassigned. Red Alert and Inferno were to go with Optimus Prime on his search mission, much to Firestar's disappointment. Prime hadn't wanted to take any femmes with him, for reasons best known to him. Kicker had been transferred to a front-line unit, which meant he got to fight, something Tracer was sure he secretly wanted to be able to do all the time. Rollback was forced to stay in Iacon as part of the now limited medical team that would be left on Cybertron. Teams had been split up and reassigned as mechs were drafted for Prime's search mission. Tracer had been torn between being pleased and disappointed when she found out her old mentor Hound had been one of those drafted. Tracer and Firestar had been assigned to Elita One's team of femmes, but weren't due to move to the new base until later that orn, which meant they were in Iacon to see the shuttle take off, carrying what could be the last hope of winning this war. Firestar deliberately hadn't spoken to either Inferno or Red Alert after they got their transfers verified.

"C'mon Tracer, we've got to get a good view." Firestar pulled on Tracer's hand, leading her towards the launch pad. It seemed like all the Autobots left in Iacon had turned out to watch the shuttle leave.

"I'm hurrying as fast as I can." They managed to jostle their way to the front of the crowd that had gathered at the pad, watching to see the Autobots make their way onboard the shuttle. Most were mechs Tracer didn't recognise, but Hound's form stood out amongst them. As did Inferno's; much larger than most of the others.

"Look, there they are." Tracer pointed out their former team members to Firestar, who waved as soon as she spotted them. She smiled softly as Inferno turned and waved back enthusiastically. Red Alert settled for a slightly more sedate wave. Tracer shrank back behind Firestar as she saw the Twins saunter past, not particularly wanting them to see her.

Eventually, all the members of the search mission had boarded and the shuttle was ready to leave.

They watched until the shuttle was out of optic range, engines burning bright against the dark of the sky.

"How long do you think it'll take?" Tracer asked Firestar as they made their way to their dorm.

"Red said they shouldn't be gone more than half a vorn. We're due to meet with Elita One, Chromia and a few new recruits in a couple of joors, so we'd best get some recharge in."

No one on Cybertron registered the presence of the Decepticon cruiser following the Autobot ship. No one observed the battle and chase that ensued through the shower of debris resulting from a massive asteroid collision. No one saw the boarding tube attach itself to the outside of the spaceship, allowing the Decepticons entry.

No one saw both ships veer drastically off course, hurtling through the galaxy and spinning out of control to land on a nearby planet in a distant system far from Cybertron.

88088088088088088

Energon was a rarity on Cybertron. Several thousand vorns had passed since the Autobots launched their ill-fated search mission for a new source of energy. The remaining Autobots had scattered, shocked by the loss of their leader. Elita One had not given up hope. She seemed to know something the others didn't, which meant her unit stayed on Cybertron, eking out an existence as best they could; often resorting to Decepticon techniques, infiltrating and stealing energon from Shockwave, Megatron's lieutenant left in charge.

"I'm telling you, there's a huge store of energon there."

"What would Shockwave be doing with such a large supply?"  
"I don't know. I just find the stuff, I don't wonder why."

"Chromia, I want you to organise a raid. Shockwave doesn't need all that energon and we certainly do!"

"Of course Elita." The light blue femme turned and quickly called a few names. Together they organised a plan.

"Tracer, is the place under guard?"  
"Didn't seem to be. I didn't pick up any energy signatures any where near the stockpile."

"Okay. Firestar, you and Moonracer are with me." A chorus of affirmatives and they were on their way. Tracer watched them leave. She found the energon; the others went and stole it. It had been like this for many vorns; raids and patrols, planned precisely to keep Shockwave aware of the continuing presence of Autobots. They snuck in and stole energon, planted explosives and accomplished it all without being seen. They were Elita One's elite.

But this time they were careless. Tracer was monitoring the perimeter when Chromia commed for entry to the base and was refused. She shook her head as Elita One looked at her for a report.

"Request denied. You've got company." Tracer watched as Moonracer dispatched the sentinel robot that had tracked them with a well-placed shot before allowing them entry.

Unknown to the femmes, Shockwave had tracked his sentinel robot and had deduced the approximate location of their base. While they busied themselves unloading their stolen energon and debriefing, Shockwave was establishing a radio link with Megatron, the Decepticon commander. It had been assumed since the day the Autobot shuttle left Cybertron that Megatron and his army had followed. No sign had been seen of them on Cybertron or any of its outposts. The war still continued on without their leaders; temporary ones stepping into place to ensure their survival.

88088088088088088

"I'm going to scout around. I've informed Alpha Trion that the Decepticons have probably discovered our base, so we're going to need to relocate." Elita One entered the main communal area.

"Wouldn't it be better if I went?" Tracer asked, staring up at the pink femme. "I'm faster."

"As I told Alpha Trion, I can handle a few Decepticons." The tone in Elita One's vocaliser brooked no argument.

"Understood." Tracer reluctantly complied, busying herself instead with helping Moonracer store the energon cubes. She didn't watch Elita leave. No longer paying attention to the monitors, she was unaware that Decepticons had located their base and were about to try and flush them out.

The base shook as the Decepticons attacked. Columns crumbled and debris rained down on them, forcing them to take cover within their own base to avoid getting crushed. Tracer's processor registered the image on the monitor screen as she dived for cover, even if her optics didn't.

As the dust settled, Tracer looked around. The base was in disarray, debris everywhere. She heard noises, scrabbling as they all tried to recover and help each other up.

"What happened?" Moonracer asked, struggling to a standing position.

"That's what I'd like to know!" Chromia declared.

"The last thing I saw on the monitor were some Decepticons, right above our headquarters."

"Elita One? I hope she's safe." Moonracer looked around, hoping for some confirmation from her team-mates.

"I saw nothing, just a small Decepticon with piledrivers." Tracer muttered, wishing she had good news.

"Not much we can do to help as long as we're trapped." Firestar said, pointing out the debris covering their exit.

"But we're not gonna stay trapped, are we?" Chromia sounded determined, eliciting a positive response from the others as they started work on moving the debris.

Nearly five breems later, they admitted defeat. There was no way they could move the sheer amount of metal that blocked the entrance. Disillusioned, they sat about listlessly, trapped in their own base.

"There must be some logical way out of here!" Chromia mused.

"We'll run out of energy before we get out of here." Someone muttered.

"Of course!" Moonracer sat bolt upright. "The energon cubes. We could use them to blast our way out."

"But they had to have been destroyed in the earthquake." Chromia's tone held a note of defeat as she watched Moonracer cross to one of their storage rooms.

"Me and Tracer put them in here for safe keeping!" She cried, opening the doors and revealing a large stack of energon cubes.

"Okay. Pile up the energon cubes then." Chromia ordered. No sooner were the cubes were piled in the entrance than they took refuge behind the debris created by the Decepticons attack. As soon as everyone was safely protected, Chromia fired, igniting the energon cubes.

88088088088088088

The acrid smoke and flames cleared quickly, showing the entrance to be accessible now.

"Let's find Elita One, before it's too late!" Chromia led them out of the base. Once clear, they all transformed.

"Anything Tracer?"

"Not a thing Chromia… although…" Tracer paused, double checking the readings on her sensors. "I'm picking up Decepticon energy signatures near the citadel." The decision was made to go after the Decepticons in revenge and the hope they had Elita One. As they drew nearer, Tracer let out a small gasp, veering slightly off course.

"Tracer?" Firestar asked from her side, concerned.

"Must have been a sensor glitch…" Tracer replied, no conviction in her tone.

"Do you see what I see?" Chromia cried, transforming as soon as she stopped, Moonracer at her side.

"Autobots!"

"And it looks like they could use our help." Firestar countered. Three Autobots were in a standoff against the four Decepticons.

It didn't take long with the added firepower the femmes provided for the Decepticons to begin retreating. Just as they thought they were winning, Shockwave transformed, forcing them back towards the edge of the platform they were fighting on. As they clung on to the edge, the sound of a diesel engine rumbling towards them echoed off the buildings. As the Decepticons saw Optimus Prime and Elita One pull up, they retreated, leaving the Autobots to celebrate their victory and their reunion.

88088088088088088

The Autobots stayed until the femmes had relocated to their new base, helping out as best they could whilst explaining their presence. There was so much to talk about. Several thousand vorns had passed and there was much to catch up on. The realisation that the ones they loved still functioned had taken them all by surprise. Once they were in the relative safety of their new base, with the perimeter sensory grid set up and operation, they all took the chance to relax and catch up.

Firestar had dragged Inferno over to a corner, where they now sat; Firestar curled up against Inferno, relishing the presence of one who was so close to her spark. Tracer sat down in front of them, feeling slightly awkward as though she were intruding, but at the same time needing to know what had happened. The femmes had all paired off with their respective mechs. Tracer had already seen Chromia and her bondmate Ironhide disappear into Chromia's new quarters. Moonracer had given Powerglide, a former team-mate of hers, the guided tour and was now settled down next to him, listening to his 'daring exploits' as he termed them.

The Decepticons had attacked the ship after it had taken off, sending them spinning out of control and crashing down on a primitive planet. The shock sent them all into stasis lock, which would have been permanent had the volcano they crashed in to not erupted and reactivated the onboard computer system.

It seemed all too soon when Optimus Prime left the confines of Elita One's new office to announce that they would have to return to Earth. A plan was quickly devised to ensure that the Decepticons were not monitoring the space bridge. Tracer was sent ahead to monitor the situation. When she sent back the all-clear, all the others made their way to the Decepticon's base.

But there was little despair as they watched their comrades leave. There was more hope than ever before; hope for the future and relief that their loved ones had not perished. The war would continue, but they now had the support of the mechs and new sources of energy.

"Don't stay away too long Optimus." Was Elita One's last comment as she waved, watching her bonded enter the space bridge.

88088088088088088

880880880880880880088088088088088088

* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	9. Persuasion

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: And the convergence continues! And we get to have some fun soon!

* * *

Life was different now. Knowing that there were other Autobots in reach renewed the enthusiasm in the femmes for planning and raiding. It wasn't as much of a problem now as they could get energon from the Earth, but it still meant they got to disrupt Shockwave's plans. Regular visits from Earth had been scheduled, but no femme had yet to go down. Therefore it was no surprise when Omega Supreme landed less than a hic away from their current base of operations. Tracer left her station briefly to inform Elita One that they had visitors before racing to find Firestar.

"You're gonna have company Firestar!"

"What?"

"Inferno's back… and he's brought Red with him!" Firestar raced out her quarters at a speed that would have made Kicker jealous. Tracer followed her back up the corridor, taking her place back at her station whilst Firestar joined Elita One in welcoming the Autobots into their base. The atmosphere was always excitable when the mechs came up from Earth. They brought energon and stories of their adventures on Earth and often provided help around the base. The first trip up from Earth had included Grapple and Hoist amongst its occupants. They had helped in designing and expanding parts of the base.

This time however, the party consisted of Optimus Prime, Red Alert, Inferno, Hound and Prowl, the Autobot tactician. As much as she wanted to see her old team-mates and her mentor, her duties came first and she slumped in her chair slightly, staring at the monitors, half her processor on her sensors and the approaching Autobots.

Yet it was still a surprise when Hound placed his hands on the back of the chair and leant over to look at the monitors. Holding her hand over her chestplate as though she could slow the racing of her fuel pump that way, she turned round in her chair and glared up at her mentor.

"No one ever told you not to sneak up on a femme?" Hound's grin widened.

"Elita says you're off duty as of now, so why don't you show me around?" Hound suggested, ignoring Tracer's dumbfounded look.

"Er… sure?"

"Thatta girl." Hound patted her on the shoulder and stepped back as she stood up.

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As she took him on a small tour of the base, Hound talked about everything he'd seen on Earth. Tracer had to admit, it sounded beautiful; the colors and textures sounded vastly different to those on Cybertron.

"You sound as though you love it there Hound." She teased.  
"I do. And you would too."

"I don't doubt that, but my place is here…" She paused, processor working double-time as she joined the metaphorical dots. "Hound…"

"Yeah?" They had stopped on one of the upper decks, near an opening that had a view across towards the cities. Hound stared at it, optics taking in the destruction that was still evident in the debris littering the ground.

"Why are you here?" She could hear him vent a sigh before he turned round to face her.

"Because I stand the best chance of convincing you."  
"Convincing me? To do what?"  
"Come to Earth."

"What?" Hound leant back against the wall, staring down at the Minibot in front of him, determination and defiance clear in every inch of her chassis.

"We need you." He answered simply. "The Decepticons are living up to their name and we're finding it hard to locate their temporary bases. Much of the time, between me, Beachcomber and Bumblebee, we don't find them until it's too late."

"Too late?"

"They destroy something."

"I still don't see how I could do anything more than you're already doing."

"Tracer. You're good. You know you're good. Soundwave wouldn't have even tried if you weren't." Tracer brought her head up sharply at sound of that name. "Your sensors are better equipped for distance and sensitivity."

"I know that… but, I have a job to do here too."

"Optimus Prime and Prowl are talking to Elita One. Prowl believes you could better further our efforts in the war on Earth."

88088088088088088

They made their way back slowly to the control room. Tracer was occupied by the thoughts racing through her processor, so Hound had his hand on her shoulder guiding her gently. She was abruptly brought of out her musings by Firestar rushing up to her.

"Is it true Tracer?"

"Is what true?"

"That you're being transferred to Earth? I'm so proud of you!" Tracer found herself enveloped in an awkward hug, just seeing the smirk on Hound's faceplates before she lost sight of him.

"I'm not sure it's up to me." Tracer replied, managing to pull herself away from Firestar.

"Of course it is." Suddenly wishing she were anywhere but standing there, Tracer turned to look up at Optimus Prime. "We wouldn't want anyone to do something they didn't want to."

"I… I…" Tracer stuttered, looking from Prime to Elita to Hound and then to Firestar, Red Alert and Inferno. There was no way she could turn this offer down. The search for energon wasn't as crucial now they had contact with the mechs on Earth so she wasn't as useful as she had been. "I… I guess I'm going…" Above her head, Prime gave a satisfied nod, glancing down as Prowl walked up to the group. Red Alert shared an unreadable look with Hound.

88088088088088088

Within a mega-cycle, they were ready to leave. Tracer was more nervous than she had been when she joined Red Alert's team. This would be unlike anything she had ever experienced. There would be more than thirty mechs on the base on Earth, five times as many as she had ever worked with. That combined with the fact that Soundwave was on Earth nearly made her withdraw her consent to being reassigned.

"You okay kid?"

"I guess…"

"If you're worried about Soundwave, don't be. Red let Prowl know the situation, and that mech. can compute outcomes like no-one I've ever seen. If there were a big chance of him coming after you again, Prowl wouldn't have recommended we try."

"Okay…" Still hesitant, Tracer followed Inferno as they boarded Omega Supreme. She sat down next to him, watching as the others filed aboard. Hound smiled reassuringly in her direction as he took his seat. Red Alert sat down the other side of Inferno, nestling up against the larger mech. Leaning back, Tracer offlined her optics briefly.

"Still don't like flying?"

"It's not the flying I mind." She answered, not at all surprised that Red Alert had picked up on her unease.

"The journey won't take long. We'll be there before you know it." Tracer nodded, listening to the low rumble that signified Omega Supreme starting his engines, steeling herself, ready for the lift off.

"Oh Primus…" She muttered quietly to herself as they launched into the air.

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* * *

While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW 

Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds  
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second  
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes  
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes  
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes  
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours  
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours  
Orn : About 13 Earth days  
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks  
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months  
Meta-cycle : 13 months  
Vorn : About 83 Earth years

Hic : 1 kilometer  
Vun : 1 hectometer  
Mechanometer : 1 meter  
Megamile : 1 mile


	10. Brave New World

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: The quote used is "Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it." by Ninon de Lenclos

* * *

Tracer couldn't believe her optics when she stepped off the ramp. Everything was so vibrant and healthy and clean.

"You think this is something, wait until you see the cities." Hound murmured in her audio. Tracer couldn't do anything but nod; amazed at the sight laid out before her. The desert seemed to stretch for hics, far further than anything she could think of on Cybertron. The colors reflected the waning sun with an intensity she had never seen before. Each rock and pebble looked alive.

It was like nothing on Cybertron. She staggered for a moment, the enormity of what she had just agreed to dawning on her.

"Tracer?" Red Alert's hand rested gently on her shoulder.

"I… I'm fine. It's just… a lot to take in."

"You don't have to take it in all at once." Tracer would swear that Optimus Prime sounded amused. "Red Alert will show you to quarters and a briefing and introduction will be held tomorrow morning."

It was a short walk to the Ark, the ship they had taken off from Cybertron on all those vorns ago. Buried half in the mountainside, Tracer took a moment to appreciate how close they had come to actually losing everyone. Inferno explained on the way how they had accustomed themselves to the human method of time-keeping.

"Red'll be able to fill ya in on most of it. He's better at it than me. Rest of it, you'll just have to pick up on your own kid."

"Great…" A new world and a new timing system to get used to. Red Alert and Inferno stayed with her until they reached the quarters Red Alert had quickly assigned her. Thankfully, there weren't too many mechs around; the few she did see stopped and stared in amazement. Her quarters were clean, if a little cramped, at least for an ordinary sized Autobot. For Tracer, it seemed quite spacious and she couldn't help but comment on it.

"We've expanded out of the ship and into the mountainside as best we could once we realised we were stuck on Earth. Tracer nodded, jumping up on the recharge berth and looking around.

"Am I gonna end up with a new alt-mode?" She asked, pointing at the tires adorning her ex-team-mates.

"Yes. You will have to see Ratchet tomorrow as well. I know it seems like a lot to do at the moment, but we are taking advantage of a lull in Decepticon activity." They spent a while talking, Red Alert and Inferno between them doing their best to tell her everything she might need to know. It seemed all too soon when they made their excuses to return to their own quarters, leaving Tracer alone in hers. Settling down to recharge, she wondered how different things would be tomorrow.

88088088088088088

The sun rose over the horizon, breaking the blackness of the night with its soft golden rays. They seemed to dance across the desert, the morning dew glistening on the rocks. It was breathtaking. Realising that she would probably get in trouble for leaving the base and climbing up the mountainside, Tracer found she didn't actually care too much. The sight had certainly been worth it. Besides, Red Alert and Inferno were still in recharge and she had her sensors trained on them so that when they cycled out of recharge, she could be ready and back inside the base in her quarters.

"Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives and everything is animated." Tracer jumped at the quiet voice in her audio.

"Hound!"

"Sorry." He didn't sound at all apologetic. "I knew I'd find you outside this morning." Tracer ducked her head, embarrassed.

"I couldn't help it. The way you described it back on Cybertron, I had to see for myself."

"And…?"

"And you were right. It's glorious. It beats the lights of Crystal City for sheer splendor."  
"Come on, we'd best get you inside. Prowl's a stickler for punctuality. It won't do for you to be late on your first day." Hound held out his hand to help her up, Tracer gratefully taking it when she realised how cold the temperature was and how she had stiffened up while she had been sitting there.

"Is it always like this?"

"Like what?"  
"Cold."

"Heh. Earth has seasons, so the weather can be different day to day. If you think this is cold, you wait 'til winter and there's snow on the ground."  
"Snow?" Hound just chuckled and pulled her to her feet, not answering her question. Tracer shook her head and followed him back down to the Ark.

88088088088088088

She stood as still as she could as Prime spoke, servos itching to move. He had updated them all on the situation with the war; most of them knowing where they stood judging by the expressions on their faces. She and Hound had been the first ones in the meeting room and she had been able to watch as they all entered, some laughing and joking with one another, others talking quietly. The look on Sunstreaker's faceplates when he saw her nearly matched the one he had given her back on Cybertron all those vorns ago. Sideswipe had just grinned at her as she tried to shrink back behind Hound. Evidently the rumor mill had been in operation overnight as no one had seemed surprised to see her standing there when they entered. Tracer had been grateful to see several Minibots file in together. Hound had been keeping up a running commentary as everyone entered, explaining who they were and what they did.

The meeting drew to a close and everyone milled around, talking to one another while getting ready for the rest of the day. Those heading out on patrol left, leaving those on duty within the Ark.

"Tracer." She looked up at the mention of her name, visibly wilting as Ratchet walked towards her. Out of everything this transfer meant, changing her alt-mode was something she was not looking forward to.

"Er…"

"The sooner we get it done kid the better."

"We?"  
"Wheeljack'll be helping me." He indicated the engineer with a wave of his hand, shaking his head as the aforementioned engineer bounced up to them. "How can you be so fragging active this early in the morning?"

"Heh, you never were a morning 'bot." Wheeljack retorted head fins flashing in time to his vocalisation. "Is this her?"

"Yep."

"Is your sensor system really as sophisticated as Ratchet tells me?" Wheeljack asked eagerly. Hound laughed outright at that and patted Tracer on the shoulder.

"I'll leave you to it then." He walked off grinning, ignoring Tracer glaring at him as best she could.

"You're gonna have to glare harder than that to faze him." Ratchet muttered.

"So, have you got any ideas for your new alt-mode?" Wheeljack asked, guiding her out of the room and down the corridor to the repair/med. bay.

"Er…"

"Talkative aren't you?"

"Give her chance 'Jack, she only got here yesterday."

"I was just thinking out loud."

"Wheeljack…"  
"We could do another animal… give the Dinobots some company."  
"I am not making another fragging animal alt-mode!"

"I guess the Dinobots were a bit complicated transformation-wise…but I still think if we…" Tracer shook her head as Wheeljack continued talking all the way to the med. bay. She didn't really want to know the details of transformations and such like. All she wanted was to get on with her job. And explore this new world. Hound had certainly been right; it was captivating. And if changing her alt-mode meant that she was able to go out and blend in, then so be it; she'd change.

88088088088088088

"But there are no small sports cars that would fit?"

"Not any that are fast, manoeuvrable and sturdy?"

"This is just going to be slagging impossible."  
"Wait, what about Beachcomber's alt-mode?"

"Not sturdy enough."  
"Well what about Brawn's"

"Plating's all wrong for her chassis."

Tracer listened to them talk about her new alt-mode. They had been discussing it for almost two cycles, no wait; nearly two hours. Tracer had to remind herself to convert to Earth time units now. The conversation between the medic and the engineer had gone into technical terms Tracer had soon lost track of. Instead, she found herself gazing around the well-stocked med. bay, marvelling at how much had been done to convert the ship since they crash landed on Earth. She wasn't aware she was fidgeting restlessly until Ratchet broke away from the conversation he was having with Wheeljack to snap at her.

"Kick that berth one more time and I'll weld your feet to it!" She froze, only know realising she had been swinging her feet. Lost in her own thoughts the sound of her kicking the berth she was sitting on hadn't filtered through her audios.

"Ooops… sorry…" She tried giving them a small smile, but faltered under Ratchet's glare.

"Anyway, we think we've got a suitable alt-mode for you. We just need you to okay it before we start work."

"Okay…" Filled with trepidation, Tracer jumped down off the berth where she had been sitting and crossed to the computer station Wheeljack and Ratchet had been working on. A small off road vehicle was displayed on the screen. It certainly looked sturdy enough, yet delicate enough to suit her slender frame.

"Well?"

"How fast is it?" The one thing she had loved on Cybertron was her speed. It had served her well over the vorns (millennia) and she was reluctant to lose the one advantage she had.

"It's fast. Not as fast as your Cybertronian form, but it's still fast for an Earth vehicle."

"Your root mode won't look much different, save for the addition of tires and there'll be some extra panelling here and here." Ratchet brought up the schematics of her robot mode and pointed out the differences.

"Okay…"

"You ready?"

"We're doing it now?" Tracer all but squeaked.

"No time like the present. Besides, the sooner we get it done, the sooner you'll actually be able to leave the base."

"It won't take too long. We've chosen this alt-mode to make the transition easier on you."

"How did you guys do it?"

"Huh?"  
"Do what?"

"When you crashed. How did you adjust? And get your alt-modes?"

"Well, I'd say for the adjusting bit, we're still doing that. I'll be fragged if I don't have Gears in here every day complaining about dust or germs or organic life in general."

"Teletraan-1 gave us the original Earth modes once the volcano reactivated it, based on our size, configuration and function. Ratchet and me then made any necessary adjustments."

"Except for Perceptor." Ratchet muttered.

"In his defence he thought his alt-mode was perfectly suitable for his needs."

"He would say that. Right, let's get this over with."

"Aren't I supposed to be the one saying that?"

"Cute, kid. Now shut up, lie down and shut down." Ratchet pointed back at the berth, waiting for Tracer to settle herself down and offline before they could start work.

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880880880880880880088088088088088088


	11. Adjusting

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Do you read these anyway? I'm running out of amusing things to write here and nothing occurred while I was writing this part that made me think 'oh, must put that in the AN's and make people laugh…'

Oh, and any PM's anyone has sent me, my e-mail decided to eat them which is why I haven't replied... sorry!

* * *

It was, she decided, incredibly disconcerting to online and realise that all of your internal sensors were offline. The panic had barely begun to set in when she heard Ratchet's voice, moments before he came into her optic range. 

"Don't think about moving yet. And don't worry, nothing's wrong. Just needed to bring you online to recalibrate your sensors properly." Ratchet quickly explained, alleviating her fears. She was in one piece, there hadn't been a Decepticon attack and she was safe.

"Frag." She mumbled. Ratchet helped her to a sitting position before turning her internal sensors back online to begin the recalibration. Throughout the unpleasant procedure, all Tracer could hear was Wheeljack extolling the virtues of her sensor array. And coming up with ideas to improve it, at least until Ratchet had put a stop to that. Having your patient wince whilst trying to recalibrate sensors was not amusing in the least. Tracer did manage to smile as Ratchet threatened to weld Wheeljack to the ceiling by his aft, before sharing a glance with Wheeljack.

"He's got a thing for welding 'bots, ain't he? Ow, hey!" The last was directed at Ratchet, who smirked back at her.  
"Well that sensor certainly works."

"I don't have any sensors on the back of my helmet!" Tracer pouted, realising that it was probably not the best idea to annoy the medic while he is recalibrating your sensors and generally anywhere near your internal systems. Or anywhere near you, judging by the dent in the back of her helmet.

"Right. That's you done." Ratchet said stepping back and allowing Tracer to jump down off the berth, but staying near enough so that he could steady her if her gyros hadn't stabilised yet.

Once she was standing and felt reasonably secure that she wouldn't fall over, Tracer let go of the edge of the berth. There was a brief wobble as her systems adjusted to the extra weight she was now carrying before they stabilised.

"You've tweaked my sensors." She frowned as she twisted, testing out her range of movement.

"Having had the chance to study Red Alert and Hound's sensor networks, I added in the modifications I've made to theirs to yours while I was recalibrating them."

"Thanks…"

"Okay, now transform." Tracer obeyed, folding down with ease into her new form. She briefly rested on her tires before transforming back.

"Ow."

"What?"

"It feels awkward."

"What does?"

"The tires. It feels so strange…" She trailed off, not sure exactly how to vocalise the readings she had gotten.

"You'll get used to it. Besides, it's easier having a bit of grip on the roads here." Wheeljack joined in the conversation. "Hover mode just doesn't work with the terrain."

"Trust you to know that." Ratchet retorted. Wheeljack shrugged, the vocal indicators on his head flashing a warm pink. Tracer nodded and transformed again, settling uneasily on her tires, but staying still.

"Okay, what does your internal diagnostic say?"

"All systems functioning within normal parameters." Tracer replied after checking.

"Perfect. Right, you can go refuel and recharge and I'll want you back here in the morning to double-check everything."

"Recharge... already?"

"Kid, you've been offline for over eight hours. And recharging now will settle your systems down and allow them to make any final adjustments they need to accommodate your new alt-mode."

"Oh." Tracer really didn't have much to say to that, she hadn't checked her internal chronometer as it had still been set on Cybertronian time. A quick check now showed that it had been set to Earth time. She transformed again, letting her gyros stabilise themselves before taking a step in the direction of the door. A quick nod from Ratchet had Wheeljack following her out of the med. bay, evidently to make sure she didn't fall over on the way back to her quarters.

She would have to get used to the extra kibble she decided on the way back to her quarters. She could see the tires on her shoulders in the edge of her optics. The remaining two tires lay just above her knee joints didn't impede her movement as much as she initially had thought they would. The fifth spare wheel was settled neatly on her back.

"So you looking forward to getting out and testing the new wheels?" Wheeljack's question broke her out of her thoughts.

"I am actually…" She replied after a moment's thought. It was true. While she felt uncomfortable with the new alt-mode at present that would change. She would need time to adjust to the changes. Already she knew her systems had compensated for the extra weight and armor. It wouldn't hopefully take too long for her to grow accustomed to it. And the sooner she got accustomed to it, the sooner she could explore this new world.

Wheeljack left her at the door to her quarters with a friendly wave before he hurried back down the corridor. Venting a soft sigh, she entered the code for her quarters, realising how low on energy she was. The recharge berth looked more welcoming than it had the previous night and she gratefully climbed onto it. Telling herself that there was a valid reason as to why she had missed most of her first day on Earth, she cycled her systems into recharge.

88088088088088088

Tracer's first port of call the next morning was the med. bay, for a quick check-up on all her systems. Once she got the all clear from Ratchet, she made her way to the rec. room on his suggestion. Most of the Autobots would be there until their shifts started and she could refuel there, having not actually refuelled the previous night.

She paused at the door, the noise infiltrating her audios and nearly making her wince.

"Tracer!" Hound's voice carried across the room which fell silent as he spoke, all optics turning towards her. Ducking her head briefly, she stepped into the room and started towards Hound. It seemed that every few paces, an Autobot would come and introduce themselves to her, welcoming her to Earth and to the team. All except Sunstreaker. She could see him across the room, lounging elegantly against the wall, a scowl on his faceplates. She could feel his optics on her as she crossed the room, stopping in front of Hound and staring up at her former mentor.

"You're out on patrol with me and Brawn this morning." Hound indicated a Minibot standing close by who nodded at her. She smiled back

"What're we waiting for?"

"For you to refuel lughead." A ripple of friendly laughter went round the small group as Brawn answered her.

"Bit too eager there Tracer." Hound clapped her on the shoulder. "Get yourself some energon and we'll tell you where we're going." As she sat down and sipped at her cube, she listened as Hound explained where they were heading. A mountainous area, north of the Ark's location, some forty miles away. It would take about thirty minutes to reach the area if they were lucky with the roads. Prowl had reasoned that it was a good location for the Decepticons to set up a temporary base and wanted the locale scouted.

88088088088088088

Hound waited until Tracer transformed, walking around her stationary form before transforming himself.

"Nice alt-mode."

"I'm getting used to it. The tires are strange." Tracer replied honestly.

"We're going to have to set up a club to rival the Datsuns." Brawn muttered.

"4WD Anonymous?" Hound quipped.

"Get Gears and Trailbreaker involved and we're there." Tracer sat quietly in alt-mode, listening to the other two joke around. It wasn't unusual to have a similar alt-mode to others. In fact, Tracer and Kicker had the same alt-mode, albeit with a large size difference, but the basic structure had been the same. Brawn wasn't that much taller than her, an inch or so if she was lucky, so she figured if she had any problems adjusting to her alt-mode, Brawn would be the 'bot to go to for help.

Hound pulled away from the Ark first, leading the way, followed by Tracer then Brawn. She wasn't used to being quite so close to the ground. She could feel every rock and pebble in the road through her tires and it was irritating to say the least. Trying to use her lessons with Red Alert to ignore the sensations from her tires she managed to block out most of the readings.

"You think she'll be okay?" Inferno asked. He was in the Security center with Red Alert; the pair just having watched Tracer leave on her first patrol.

"She should be. Between her and Hound they'll pick up anything before it reaches them. And Brawn is more than capable of defending her."

"Do you really think Soundwave will bother with her after all this time?"

"I don't know. I hope to Primus he won't." Inferno squeezed Red Alert's shoulder briefly.  
"She beat him once, she can do it again. We taught her well."

"Inferno… you make it sound like we were her creators." Red Alert turned slightly in his chair, raising an optic ridge at Inferno.

"Heh. You know what I mean though Red. Besides, Firestar made us promise to look after her."

"I know."

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The mountains rose up either side of the road they were travelling on, blocking out most of the early morning sunlight. Sensors tuned to maximum, all Tracer could detect were small forms moving in the shrubs scattered around. Hound assured her they weren't sensor glitches but were in fact local wildlife, creatures similar to turbofoxes and petrorabbits. So intent was she on following these sensor readings, she almost didn't notice the other presences heading towards them.

"We got Seekers incoming." She called out, sliding to a stop, actually grateful for the traction her tires had on the loose road surface. They huddled as close as their alt-forms would allow them while Hound projected a holographic illusion around them. The Seekers flew over, jet engines echoing off the mountainside.

"Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker." Hound muttered.

"Did they see us?" Brawn asked.

"Doesn't look like it… wait…" Hound broke off as the Seekers turned as one, swooping back over their location. Tracer instinctively hunkered down lower on her tires, sensors firmly tuned to the location of the Decepticons. With a roar of their engines, the Seekers turned again and flew off. Only when Tracer was firmly convinced they weren't coming back, did she dare comm. Hound.

"That was close."

"Too close. Guess Prowl was right."

"We head straight back. Prowl needs to know about this and I don't want to risk us staying here too much longer." Hound told them both, disabling the holographic projection.

88088088088088088

The journey back to the Ark was uneventful. Prowl and Red Alert were waiting for them at the entrance when they returned, taking them straight to the meeting room for their report. The decision was made to keep an optic on the area. Blaster, the Autobots communications expert, had managed to hack into the Decepticons internal comm. frequency so they were able to monitor them for any indications of their plan.

"How long will you be able to maintain the connection with the Decepticons' frequency?"

"Hopefully the week. All depends on whether Soundwave detects the hack or not. If he does, he's likely to lock it down so much it'll take me ages to reconnect." Blaster spoke with something akin to respect coloring his vocaliser. Prowl nodded and turned to Optimus Prime, discussing something with him briefly in low tones. Tracer tried not to listen in, but still heard her name mentioned. Optimus Prime inclined his head at Prowl, indicating that he should continue.

"Tracer and Brawn will take the first shift in the area, to be replaced by Hound and Cliffjumper. Contact will be maintained with the Ark at all times and any changes will be reported immediately."

"Do you think the Decepticons will really make their base there?" Tracer couldn't help but ask. Prowl fixed her with a stare, but answered her question.

"There is a high probability that they will locate a base there. The fact that the Seekers were observed in the area only increases the probability."

88088088088088088

"You've got some nerve kid." Brawn said as they made their way to the rec. room. "Don't think I've ever seen anyone question Prowl before."

"Well it just doesn't make sense."  
"Nothing the Decepticons do makes sense, that's why Prowl has such a hard job."

"And that leaves us just sitting and watching?"

"Pretty much."

"It's like being back on Cybertron." Tracer muttered. She followed Brawn into the rec. room and sat down next to him. Minibots always tended to gravitate towards one another and the situation on the Ark was no different. Brawn had sat in 'Minibot Corner' as it had apparently been termed.

"You're gonna leave me some Decepticreeps to pound, aren't you?" A brash red Minibot, Cliffjumper, asked, leaning across the table.

"Don't intend to be doing any pounding if I can help it." Tracer retorted. "They're all yours."

"Poor femme don't wanna be fighting?" Cliffjumper sneered, ignoring the slightly horrified looks he got off the others around the table. Tracer, to her credit, wasn't fazed.

"I've done more than my fair share of fighting. But I'm a tracker, not a warrior; I have skills that require a processor to use them." She finished her energon cube and left, waiting for Brawn outside the rec. room.

Bumblebee let out a low whistle after she left.  
"Wow. She's got an attitude."

"I'll say."

"It can be worse than yours Cliffjumper." They all looked up to see Hound standing at the edge of their table. "But she's right. She's a tracker and was part of a Search and Rescue team back on Cybertron before we left. She's seen action and been caught up in it more than she should have been."

"Huh?"

"Not my place to tell. But if you want to make a friend out of her, rather than an enemy, give her a chance to tell you. Don't just assume." He looked at each of them before turning and walking out of the room.

Tracer caught his arm as he turned away from where she was standing.

"What did you tell them?"

"Nothing." Tracer vented a sigh and let go of Hound's arm.

"Two days in and already making friends." She muttered.

"Don't worry about it kid. Cliffjumper needed taking down a peg or two." Brawn clapped her on the shoulder, making her stumble forward slightly before she regained her balance. "And just because you ain't a warrior, doesn't mean you're not capable. Now, we'd best head out." Brawn nodded at Hound as he ushered a confused Tracer away.

Hound shook his head as he watched the two Minibots turn the corner at the end of the corridor. Things were certainly going to be more interesting on the Ark now.

"She okay?" Hound turned to see Inferno at the other end of the corridor, a worried expression on his faceplates. "We saw what happened in the rec. room."

"She's fine. Just told Cliffjumper what she thought of him."

"Heh, that's our Tracer."

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	12. Surveillance

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Haha! We're finally getting more canon characters in now… and it'll continue from hereonout!

* * *

It had been two hours since they arrived at their location and set themselves up for the surveillance operation. It was something neither of them were used to, so they both approached it with some trepidation even though they were confident in their abilities.

Brawn shifted restlessly against the rock he was leaning against.

"I don't know how Bumblebee does it."

"Huh?"

"Bumblebee. I don't know how he can stand just sitting there, watching and waiting." Brawn clarified.

"You'd rather be out there getting some action?" Tracer smirked, shifting her attention from her sensors to Brawn.

"Damn right. Better to go out and get them than sit around waiting for them to come get you."

"But there's something to be said for sitting back and planning." She countered.

"You're beginning to sound like Prowl."

"This is Blaster, blasting at ya." The voice of their communications expert reverberated in her audios, making her reflexively flinch and clamp her hands over her audios.

"Reading you very loud and clear Blaster." Brawn replied, more used to Blaster's volume level than Tracer was.

"Skyspy's showing you've got Decepticons on their way."

"Any ideas who Blaster?"

"From here it looks like the Constructicons. Prowl says just to stay and observe, do not attack." As Blaster signed off, Tracer stared at Brawn.

"We just wait for them to start building their base?"

"They build it, I'll bring it down." Brawn said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

"Let me guess… Demolitions?"

"Yup. And don't get much of a chance here. It's always Wheeljack that's blowing things up. Although admittedly that's normally himself…" Tracer felt her fuel pump stutter briefly as she realised that the engineer who had worked on her frame had a tendency to blow things up accidentally. "I normally get sent in when they need a heavy handed approach."

"I have a tendency to get caught up in things whether I want to or not."

"You were Search and Rescue, right?"  
"Yeah. I was on Red's team until our base got attacked and collapsed in on us."

"If you listen to Huffer, he'll tell you those bases were a disaster from the start."

"Really?"

"Poor construction. He was a construction engineer back on Cybertron." Tracer tilted her head as she concentrated on her sensors again.

"We've got company."

"Finally."

"Don't get too excited, we're just here to watch remember." Quietly, Brawn commed Blaster while Tracer refocused her sensors to the area where the Constructicons had stopped.

Over the course of the next few hours, Tracer relayed everything her sensors picked up to Brawn who, in turn, relayed it to Blaster. The cycle continued until Tracer broke off from her running commentary with a whispered "Uh oh."

"What?"  
"Aerial incoming."

"Slag." Without Hound, they had no holographic protection and had to rely purely on the camouflage of the local area. Crouched low, they both watched as a small avian mech. flew over their position.

"Laserbeak…" Brawn muttered clenching his fists, the only movement he could make without being seen. "No comms." He advised. "Anything he hears he'll report right back to Soundwave." Sheer panic flooded Tracer's processor as Brawn said that name and it was all she could do not to make a dash for the safety of the Ark. Reminding herself that the state of the war was not what it was back then and there was safety in numbers, she slowly calmed down, focussing on listening in on the conversation between the Constructicons again.

"They don't sound happy." She whispered. "They're… leaving…" As she finished her sentence, the Constructicons flew overhead, Laserbeak following behind, as though shepherding them back.

They waited until Tracer could no longer hear them or pick up their energy signatures on her sensors before making contact with the Ark.

"Blaster… Laserbeak arrived and the Constructions have just left."

"Doubt there's much point staying out here now. They didn't seem happy to leave."

"Prowl says you ought to head back, but take it careful. There's no telling what ol' Laserbeak's reported back."

"Acknowledged. See you soon Blaster." Brawn ended the transmission and eased himself off the ground.

"I'm guessing we ought not to go back the same way we came?" Tracer asked.

"Best to take a different route. If they have reached their base by now, we don't want them coming back out here after us."

"Definitely." Tracer agreed vehemently. They transformed and made their way back to the Ark, Brawn leading the way, Tracer following, her scanners set to maximum. If Soundwave realised she was here and wanted to come after her again, she wanted to know before he reached her.

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Tracer kept her fears to herself. It didn't seem right, in the war they were fighting that the fears of one small Minibot should be made public. Besides, she didn't think she needed protecting in the way that the others thought she did.

The planned base never materialised and the Decepticons were staying quiet. While Prowl, Prime and the other officers worried about it, Tracer relaxed, revelling in the new location and company. Bit by bit, she began integrating herself into the team on the Ark. She was on patrol more often than not, trying to catch up with her knowledge of the area around their base. When she wasn't on patrol, she could be found exploring with Hound, the latter taking her to all his favourite spots, or she would be sitting in the rec. room with the rest of the Minibots.

It had been on the fourth day after she arrived that Sunstreaker had cornered her in the rec. room and told her that she had better not even think of mentioning to anyone that she had beaten him in a race else he would hand her to Ratchet in so many pieces that even he wouldn't be able to put her back together. Slightly unnerved by the imposing figure he cast as he leaned over her and the threat itself (which she knew he was fully capable of carrying out), she had just nodded and squeaked out her affirmative before scurrying out of the rec. room. She dashed past Sideswipe, barely even noticing him, just wanting to get away from the warrior. Her processor conveniently pulled up sound recordings of Rollback telling her how psychotic the Twins were and she hurried along the corridor, trying to put as much distance between her and Sunstreaker as possible.

Tracer was so concerned with getting away that she barely paid any attention to her surroundings. Her focus was brought back sharply as she rounded the corner and impacted with something very large. Another squeak and she landed on her aft, optics offlining with the shock. The litany of 'please don't be Prime' echoed around her processor as she cautiously onlined her optics and stared up at the hulking black mech. in front of her.

"Er…" Trailbreaker stared down at her before offering his hand to help her up.

"What're you running from?"

"Er…" She grasped at his hand and he pulled her to her feet easily.

"Has someone been bad-mouthing you? It ain't Cliffjumper again?"

"No no no." Tracer quickly shook her head, desperately wondering how she could avoid this inquisition. The last thing she needed was someone to question Sunstreaker about his involvement. That would surely result in her being delivered to the med. bay in pieces.

"Then…?" Trailbreaker questioned gently, wondering what could have upset the small femme.

"Nothing… just er… getting used to the gravity…" Cringing internally at the poor excuse, she was glad when Trailbreaker just shook his head, an amused expression on his faceplates. Tracer raced down the corridor, not daring to look behind her.

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	13. Tracking

Warnings: Still none… unless you count a few bad words and a bit of a temper tantrum?  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Yay more action and Tracer getting annoyed with Prowl!

* * *

As time went on, Tracer became more accustomed to life on Earth and started being included in more than just the routine patrols or monitor duties. The first mission she accompanied the other Autobots on was more of a disaster than she would have liked.

It should have been easy. Simply follow the Decepticons when they retreated and locate their new temporary base. The battle had been short and few casualties had been sustained, for which Ratchet was grateful. Tracer had stayed behind the lines with him while the others dealt with the Decepticons, waiting for the battle to end so she could track them back to their base. There were few Decepticons left when Megatron called for the retreat. Tracer watched as they flew off, waiting for the lingering stragglers to leave before she left her hiding place. As the last jet jumped in the air and transformed, Tracer nodded to Ratchet and transformed, locking her sensors on the black and purple jet.

She followed the jet for a few miles, keeping her distance and using her sensors to track it when the readings suddenly disappeared. Sliding to a halt she transformed, scanning the skies for the jet. It had completely vanished.

"Well that's strange…" She muttered to herself, transforming and continuing in the direction she'd last tracked the jet to be taking, hoping to pick up his energy signature again.

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"Where is she?" Red Alert virtually demanded of Prowl as soon as he entered the tactician's office. Prowl looked up slowly from the report he was working on, regarding Red Alert with an even gaze.

"Excuse me?"

"Tracer. She is the only Autobot not to have returned from the battle and I know you had assigned her something. So where is she?"

"Red Alert, Tracer is more than capable of taking care of herself. At present she is tasked with locating the Decepticons new temporary base. She will no doubt return soon. Unless you doubt her skill?" Red Alert stood in front of Prowl's desk, momentarily speechless, before turning on his heel and stalking out. Prowl shook his head before turning his attention back to his report, absently checking his internal chronometer. As his processor registered the time, he nearly dropped the datapad. Now he understood why Red Alert had come to see him. Six hours was more than enough time to locate a base, surely? He quickly ran various scenarios through his battle computer, each coming to a more unlikely solution than the last. Resigned, he made his way to the control room, intent on trying to contact Tracer before he had a rescue mission mounted. Silence greeted him as he entered the control room.

"Blaster I need…" Prowl trailed off as footsteps echoed loudly down the corridor. Mildly wondering why the Dinobots were out, Prowl was completely surprised when Tracer walked into the control room, right up to him and thrust a datapad at him.

"There! And next time, tell me when they have the ability to slagging teleport!" Without waiting for an answer (which Prowl was sure he wouldn't have been able to come up with) she turned and left the control room, footsteps echoing again down the corridor. Prowl stared after her, logic circuits desperately trying to understand what had happened.

"What'd she give ya?" Jazz asked, leaning in towards Prowl. Activating the datapad, Prowl read what was written there before offlining his optics briefly.

"The coordinates to the Decepticon base." He replied, ignoring the warnings his logic center was now screaming at him. Jazz let out a low whistle.

"She tracked Skywarp… right back to his base even though he'd teleported?"

"It certainly explains why she took so long."

"Dang Prowl, you make it sound like a bad thing." Prowl shook his head; he meant completely the opposite. He knew what Hound and Red Alert had told him of Tracer's abilities, but to witness them was something completely different. He handed the datapad to Jazz, intent on finding Tracer and apologising. A hand on his arm stopped him and he looked up to see Hound standing beside him.

"You talk to her now, you'll end up throwing her in the brig."

"But I…" Completely at a loss for words, Prowl could feel his logic circuits beginning to fail.

"Let me deal with her. Used to it after all." Hound smirked at him before leaving the control room to find his wayward student.

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"Tracer?" Hound peered round the doorway to the washracks. He knew the Minibot was inside, but decided that he had best announce his presence.

"Leave it Hound. I am not apologising to him." Tracer called out from the stall she was occupying as he stepped through the door.

"Wasn't even going to suggest it." Hound replied, allowing his amusement to color his tone. As he waited, the water jets turned off and Tracer stepped out of the stall, much cleaner than she had been when she entered. Her temper however had not abated.

"No fragger told me any of them could teleport."

"I guess we're used to the fact that Skywarp can. Besides, he doesn't do it that often."

"Well he did today!"

"True." Hound couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"It's not funny! I couldn't exactly come back to base and say he'd just disappeared could I now?"

"If we knew you'd been tracking Skywarp you could have."

"You know tracking means no radio contact! Besides, Ratchet saw who I went after."  
"If Ratchet was paying attention. He'd have been a little more concerned with the wounded."

"Yeah well let's just say I felt I needed to prove myself." Tracer stared up at Hound, almost pleading with him to understand.

"Well I certainly think you did that." Tracer relaxed slightly.

"Really?"

"When I left the command center, they were all muttering about it. Wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't gone the whole way round the Ark by now."

"Just what I need, to be the subject of gossip. Look at the jumped up little tracker who thinks she's better than everyone else." She muttered darkly. Hound sighed. This wasn't going the way he'd planned.

"C'mon kid. Let's get you refuelled then you can whine some more."

"I am not whining!"

"Yes you are."

"Am…" She stopped and eyed Hound carefully. "You're distracting me."

"Yup. Is it working?"

"Fragger." Hound cajoled her into accompanying him to the rec. room so she could refuel. What she wasn't expecting when she got there was to be surrounded by everyone as soon as she entered, everyone clamouring to be heard. It was reminiscent of her second day on Earth, when everyone had rushed to greet her and introduce themselves. Except this time it was much louder. Tracer winced as someone practically shouted in her audios and actually contemplated switching them off, grasping on to Hound's arm as he made his way through the crowd.

"Okay everyone, let the girl have a drink before you start with the questions." Hound had to shout to make the others hear him. Gradually the sound began to die down and Tracer vented a sigh of relief.

"Silence is golden eh?" Tracer jumped at the sound of the voice so close to her audios, glad that Hound had gone to get the energon. She would have certainly dropped it. Whirling round, she stared up into the visor of the third in command, Jazz. He held up both hands at her expression. "Okay, easy there." Relaxing slightly at his defensive posture, she attempted a smile and a joke.

"I'm not that scary."

"Heh no, but ya sure shocked Prowl." Tracer made a non-committal sound and sat down at the nearest table.

"Jazz…" Hound came up to the table and handed a cube of energon to Tracer before acknowledging the saboteur, a slight warning in his tone.

"Just congratulating her Hound, that's all." Hound sat down, not at all surprised as Jazz sat down too.

"See kid, told you that you did well."

"Darn right. Thought she nearly froze Prowl's logic circuits there for a moment."

"I didn't?" Tracer was horrified at the thought.

"Nah. Just threw him. Don't think he knew you were tracking Skywarp. And then when you give him the coordinates. Man, you should have seen his face after you stormed out." Jazz leant back in his chair and let out a long laugh. "So how'd you do it?" He asked in all seriousness once he'd finished laughing.

"Now Jazz, we can't be giving away our secrets can we?" Hound answered for her, smiling easily at Jazz.

"Man that just ain't fair." Jazz grouched good-naturedly.

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Tracer spent the rest of the evening in the rec. room, talking and joking with the others, her temper gradually fading as time passed. She was still sitting at the same table when Inferno entered the rec. room. He had an unfair advantage in finding Tracer in the crowds; he and Red Alert had been watching from the Security Director's office. As best he could, he crept through the crowds to stand behind her. She was half-sprawled across the table, clearly in need of recharge but reluctant to leave, listening to Hound and Trailbreaker talk about some of the more beautiful spots each had found on their travels. Trailbreaker was describing some huge hole in the ground that showed nearly half of the history of the planet, with Hound interjecting where he could. Neither of them paid Inferno much attention and Tracer had her back to him. As he stretched out to flick her antennae she twitched.

"Don't you even dare." She murmured.

"Heh, still got it then?" Inferno smirked, waiting while Tracer pulled herself upright.

"Where you're concerned, yes." She grinned up at him, optics slightly duller than normal.

"Red sent me to tell you to recharge before Ratchet finds out. Apparently it looks as though you're gonna recharge here." Tracer paused at that, suddenly registering her energy levels and grimacing.

"Go on, you'd best get." Trailbreaker said, making shooing motions with his hands. Hound nodded in agreement.

"Last thing you want is Ratchet on your aft about not recharging enough. Primus knows he has enough problems with Prime and Prowl."

"Go on… before Inferno here has to carry you back to your quarters." Trailbreaker grinned as he spoke.

"Fine, I can see when I'm outnumbered." Tracer grouched with a smile, standing up and making her way out of the rec. room and back to her quarters. Inferno followed her down the corridor.

"Red was worried about ya kid, that's why he sent me down."

"I appreciate it Inferno. Hadn't realised how low I was. Besides, you can certainly tell Firestar you're looking after me now."

"Hey, how'd you know about that?"

"I have my ways."

"You spent far too long hanging around with Kicker." Inferno muttered, shaking his head.

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	14. Sacrifice

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: I like Bluestreak, really I do. I think he's adorable.

* * *

Tracer found herself enjoying the relaxed atmosphere on Earth. The plentiful supply of energy meant that life was easier. There wasn't the desperate race to survive, instead there was time to relax and enjoy this new planet they now called home. Of course there were still patrols to be organised and communication channels to be monitored. The Decepticons were masters at treachery, luring the Autobots into a false sense of security before striking. Blaster monitored the communication channels, overseen by Red Alert. Hound organised the patrols and Prowl devised strategies for the inevitable attack by the Decepticons.

Watching the group sent out to deal with the Decepticons return to the Ark, Tracer actually counted herself lucky that she wasn't often sent out to help. Megatron had retreated (yet again as Brawn informed her), but the Autobots had still been left with injuries; ranging from minor dents and scrapes to more extreme injuries. Tracer soon found herself helping out in the repair bay, running to and from the supply cupboards as more parts were needed. Thankfully, none of the injuries were serious, though hearing Ratchet ranting, one wouldn't necessarily think so.

What it did mean was that patrols and duty shifts had to be hastily rearranged while the injured recovered. Which was how Tracer found herself patrolling with Bluestreak.

It wasn't that she didn't like Bluestreak, it was more the fact that he was talkative. Overly talkative and Tracer had very sensitive audios. Since she had come to Earth, she had learnt that there were a few mechs whose presence off duty she should avoid; Blaster, Jazz, Bluestreak and surprisingly Seaspray, to name a few.

So far, their patrol (and Bluestreak) had been quiet; whether the Decepticons just weren't interested in the area they were patrolling, or were still recovering from their own injuries, Tracer didn't know, but she was grateful for the fact.

They were travelling along a mountain road; Tracer in the lead as her alt-mode suited the terrain better than Bluestreak's Datsun alt-mode, when Tracer started getting Decepticon energy signatures on the edge of her sensors. She had enough time to tell Bluestreak and start radioing the information back to the Ark when three jets flew overhead.

"Tracer to Ark, we've got Decepticons… slag!" She broke off the transmission as the jets turned and laid down a stream of laser fire in their direction. Swerving frantically, she managed to avoid most of the laser fire and Bluestreak until a lucky shot caught her front right tire, sending her sliding out of a control and to a halt, cursing frantically. Transforming, she scanned the skies, before bringing her rifle to bear at the nearest jet. Which just happened to be Skywarp. Thoughts of sweet revenge filled her processor as she fired awkwardly, the deflated tire on her shoulder impacting more than she thought it would. She could hear the distinctive crack of Bluestreak's rifle as he fired, bringing down Thundercracker with ease. Her own shot had only clipped Skywarp's wing, but he had spiralled out beyond her sensor range, so she assumed he was down.

"What now?" She asked cycling air heavily as her internal repair systems started work on repairing the damage to her shoulder. Bluestreak shook his head, before glancing up at the sky at the same time as Tracer. They had both heard Starscream coming in low, his laugh echoing in their audios as he released several cluster bombs in their direction. Thinking on his feet, Bluestreak grabbed Tracer, throwing them both to the ground and trying to shield her from the blast.

The explosion was so close that it overloaded Tracer's sensitive audios, rendering them temporarily offline. Which meant she didn't hear the rocks and debris hitting their chassis, or the whine of metal as pieces carved their way through Bluestreak's door wings to land on the ground next to her. She didn't hear his muffled grunts as each rock impacted on his chassis, nor his cries as they tore through his door wings.

The first sound she could hear when her audios onlined again was the sound of Bluestreak cycling air heavily above her. He was still supporting himself with his hands, but just barely. They had enough time to stagger to their feet before Starscream landed in front of them, a mocking smile on his faceplates.

"Well well, Laserbeak was right. Optimus Prime does have a femme amongst his ranks. How do you pay for your keep little one?" He asked, the sneer present in both his tone and face. Bluestreak stepped in front of Tracer, protecting her, not heeding the tremble that ran through his chassis as he moved.

"Back off Starscream."

"Hah. I'm not intimidated by the likes of you Autobrat." Sweeping his arm in front of him, he knocked Bluestreak to the ground. The gunner didn't move, lying in a crumpled heap on the ground. By the time Starscream returned his attention to her, Tracer had her rifle out and pointed in his direction.

"Did the mechs not teach you that little femmes shouldn't play with guns?" He asked, levelling his null ray at her. They stared at one another, each not willing to make the first move. Tracer barely had time to recognise the energy signatures that appeared on the edge of her sensors before she caught the sound of high-performance engines. Starscream took advantage of her momentary distraction to take a step towards her, forcing her to step backwards.

"Little Autobot too scared to fire?" He taunted.

"She might be, but I'm not!" Reflexively, they both turned to look at the sound of the voice, Tracer relaxing slightly at the sight of the two Lamborghinis figuratively flying along the road. Instinctively stepping back, she saw Sideswipe transform and launch his shoulder missile at Starscream. Starscream didn't have quite enough time to react, only managing to twist so the missile didn't hit him square on. Damage was still done though and he ran, futilely trying to escape the Lamborghini warriors until he could recover enough to transform and fly away. Sunstreaker tore after him only to slide to a stop as Starscream managed to transform and fly away.

As soon as Starscream's attention was away from her, Tracer turned to Bluestreak, rapidly calling on long-unused field medic procedures to assess him. Kneeling, she checked the damage, moving aside damaged wiring to check for spark-threatening leaks.

"Is he..?" Sideswipe asked almost reluctantly.

"He's just in stasis. Too much damage, but I expect he'll be fine. We just need to get him back to the Ark." She answered, still running her hands over his chassis.

"Why the slag didn't you fire?" Tracer looked up from Bluestreak's prone chassis to see an irate Sunstreaker standing behind her.

"I…" She trailed off, not really having an answer to give the warrior.

"Lay off the kid Sunny."

"Don't call me that." Tracer ignored their bickering and radioed the Ark, confirming their location and that a medic was required for transport back to the Ark.

"Ratchet's on his way." She announced during a pause in the Twin's pseudo-argument.

"Good. What happened?" Sideswipe asked. "We didn't get told much, only that you and Blue were in trouble and you needed help."

"We were just patrolling, then I sensed the Seekers. I had enough time to warn Bluestreak and start radioing the Ark before I got cut off."

"Hence that." Sunstreaker queried, poking the deflated tire on her shoulder.

"Ow. Yes." She twisted away from his touch, stumbling before Sideswipe reached out to steady her. "They attacked, we tried to defend ourselves. We hit Thundercracker and Skywarp, but then Starscream decided to drop a few cluster bombs on us."

"At which point our brave gunner here decides to protect you." Sideswipe commented, one hand gently stroking the edge of Bluestreak's door wing.

"Yeah…" Tracer paused, quickly assessing the situation and stepping back. "I'm sorry, I mean I didn't ask him too, but he's bigger than me and I couldn't hear a thing and…" She stopped when Sunstreaker gave a strangled laugh, narrowing her optics and staring up at him. "What?"

"You're rambling just like him." Sunstreaker explained, affection creeping into his vocaliser.

"Besides, we know you didn't mean for him to do that. Stupid aft would do it all over again too." They lapsed into silence, Sideswipe crouching down next to Bluestreak while Sunstreaker remained standing, keeping an optic out for trouble.

"Here comes Ratchet… and Red Alert." She winced as she announced the Security Director's presence, knowing that his presence was not a good thing.

"Why do I feel we're gonna get a lecture?" Sideswipe muttered.

"We were just the rescue. She's going to get the lecture." Resolutely trying to ignore Sunstreaker's jibe, Tracer began pacing, nervously awaiting Ratchet and Red Alert's arrival.

Once Ratchet arrived on the scene, things happened very quickly. Tracer told him what she'd already done to help Bluestreak and he gave a curt nod before transforming and ordering Sideswipe to get him inside.

"What happened?" Red Alert stood next to Tracer, watching as Sideswipe carefully loaded Bluestreak into the back of the ambulance.  
"Starscream." She was about to elaborate when Ratchet barked an order at her.

"Get in!"  
"What?"

"There's no way you can drive on that tire, now get in." As she was about to climb in, Sunstreaker placed a hand on her shoulder. Tracer instantly froze, before glancing up at him, a questioning look on her faceplates.

"Keep an eye on Blue for us."

"You sound like you don't trust me Sunstreaker." The smirk that would have been on Ratchet's faceplates was clear in his tone.

"I've seen the way you drive. Absolutely no style or class." The Lamborghini retorted, watching Tracer climb in before slamming the doors on Ratchet's alt-mode a little harder than the medic liked, judging by the bout of cursing that followed.

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Ratchet had repaired Bluestreak first, forcing the Twins to stay quiet while he did so. Sunstreaker paced the med. bay while Sideswipe leant against the wall. Tracer sat on a berth waiting for her shoulder tire to be repaired and trying not to fidget. There was nothing for her to do but wait; she had already given her report to Red Alert, before Ratchet threatened to throw him out of the med. bay for disturbing his patients. Once he had left, peace returned to the med. bay. Once Ratchet had gotten Bluestreak stabilised and repaired and allowed the Twins to sit with him, he started working on Tracer's tire. It was an easy repair, quickly done and it wasn't long until Tracer was free to go. She left, with the strict orders to refuel, rest and not to overstrain the shoulder joint.

Tracer ended up sat quietly in the rec. room; hating the noise, but needed the company. Not that anyone actually realised that; they were just laughing and joking as they normally did. If Red Alert and Inferno hadn't been on duty, she'd have found them, but they weren't around so she was resigned to sitting on her own in the rec. room with a cube of mid-grade energon. The scenes in the medical bay were too reminiscent of the times she'd spent waiting for team-mates to be repaired. She hadn't focussed on that since she'd been transferred to Elita One's team; the femmes not engaging in the sort of battles that would bring about that amount of damage.

Lost in her memory files, she didn't notice when someone else sat down next to her, virtually jumping as he spoke and she registered his presence.

"You look like you could do with some company."

"Huh?" Tracer tilted her head and stared back at Trailbreaker.

"I said you look like you could do with some company." He smiled back before taking a long sip of his own energon cube.

"Oh…"

"Relax kid, you just looked a little lonely." Tracer thought about that for a moment before replying.

"I guess I was. Too used to having someone to turn to after a battle I guess."

"First time you've been injured since you came here, right?"

"Yeah." Tracer slumped down a little in her seat, hampered slightly by the tire on her back. She wriggled about to get more comfortable before picking up her cube of energon again. "It's just weird to not have a team around." She muttered, staring into her cube.

"You've got a team, it's just a little bigger than you're used to." Trailbreaker reminded her. "I never got to see many battles back home. I was mostly based in Iacon, coming up with new defenses for our side."

"Didn't get to see much but battles, but at least I wasn't really part of them." They talked for a little while about their individual experiences in the war. Tracer told Trailbreaker how different Red Alert had been back on Cybertron, where he hadn't been quite so tightly wound as he was on Earth. As they shared their stories, Tracer slowly relaxed; the mid-grade and lack of recharge taking their toll on her systems.

By the time Inferno and Red Alert made their way to the rec. room after their shifts ended, they found Tracer nestled up against Trailbreaker, deep in recharge.

"See, cybercat." Red Alert pointed out, a trace of a smile on his faceplates.

"Never disagreed with ya Red." Inferno replied, a small chuckle escaping him at the look Trailbreaker gave him.

"She drifted into recharge about half an hour ago. Didn't have the spark to move her." Trailbreaker explained, waving his free hand in the air.

"Yeah, she does that. Hey Red, remember the time we found her sprawled out over Kicker and Rollback?"

"I remember coming back to see you all piled up together deep in recharge." Red Alert mused, a fond smile on his faceplates.

"Er… little help here guys?"

"Oh yeah. Just dump her back in her quarters." Inferno grinned at Trailbreaker before dragging Red Alert back out of the rec. room.

"You do know she'll slag you when she wakes up tomorrow and finds out, right?"

"Heh, she can try." Inferno laughed.

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	15. Rebirth

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Smokescreen grows on you after a while… in a completely good way mind you.

* * *

As soon as he read Starscream's report, he went straight to see Megatron. It was revenge, pure and simple. The fact that she got away irritated him. And how she managed to stand against his talents for as long as she did somewhat annoyed him. No Autobot had ever resisted him. And he was determined to prove that fact correct.

The spin he put on his argument served to intrigue Megatron and the Decepticon leader allowed the unusual request. After that, it was a simple matter to wait. Soundwave was nothing if not a patient mech.

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"I'm fine!"

"I hate to question your own abilities to…"

"I said I'm fine!" Tracer rounded on Smokescreen angrily. The Datsun actually shrank back slightly at the look the Minibot gave him. All it had taken was a casual conversation with Trailbreaker after Tracer had fallen into recharge on him in the rec. room for Smokescreen to see that there might be a potential problem with the small femme. And potential problems were on his list of things to deal with as unofficial counsellor to the Autobots. Which led to him trying to corner Tracer for a little chat; it should have been perfectly simple. Should being the operative word. Tracer had managed to avoid and elude him at every chance. He had followed her down the corridor, hoping to convince her that it would be better to talk about whatever it was that was troubling her.

"Look Smokescreen, it's not that I don't appreciate the fact that you think I have a problem and want to help me with it. It's just that I don't have a problem." Smokescreen stared down at the blue Minibot for a moment before replying.

"So if I mentioned the name Soundwave, you wouldn't mind?" He asked taking careful note of the minute tremor that ran through her frame at the mention of the Decepticon's name. If he was expecting her to collapse and tell him all her problems, he was sorely mistaken. Fists clenched at her side, she straightened up and stared back at Smokescreen.

"If you doubt my ability to function properly, check with Ratchet or even Prowl. Otherwise, stop listening to idle speculation."

"It's not that. You can't blame us for worrying." Smokescreen abruptly tried a different tactic.

"I don't. It's just it's my problem and I have to deal with it myself." Hoping she'd made her point clear, Tracer started walking off, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

"Ever stop to think that we want to help?" He deliberately stressed the want, his hand not leaving her shoulder as she turned back to face him.

"There's no way you can help." She replied simply. "Unless I get taken off active duty and hidden away somewhere, there is no way that I'll stop feeling the way I do."

"And that is?" Smokescreen prompted carefully.

"Scared out of my processor." Smokescreen didn't have a quick reply and just stood in front of her, hand still resting on her shoulder. He squeezed gently.

"There's no reason for you to be scared."

"That's what Red Alert, Inferno and Prowl all say."

"And you disbelieve them?"

"No, but they haven't had Soundwave trying to hack into their processor." Smokescreen could do nothing but watch as she disappeared up the corridor.

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"I disagree. There is only a small probability that he would attempt to recapture her."

"That's not the way she sees it."

"There ain't no way you'll get her to see any different Smokescreen."

"Inferno's right. He hunted Tracer to try and change her allegiance. Only she knows what exactly went on when she was captured."

"But the report…"

"The report won't have how she felt Prowl." Inferno couldn't help but butt into the conversation again. "I don't know what went on, but from how close to stasis she were when we got to her, I don't wanna know."

"He tried to access her systems in order to force her change of allegiance." They all cringed as Prowl succinctly summarised the encounter between Soundwave and Tracer. "The state of the war has changed. He would no longer require her abilities here on Earth."

"What about revenge?" Smokescreen asked.

"As I said before, the probability that he would attempt to recapture her is very small. If you wish, I can alter her schedule to avoid any potential problems."

"She'd know something was up then." Red Alert put in.

"Well, there is nothing more that I can do to alleviate her worries or yours."

"Guess we just look out for her as normal then."

"She has proven she is more than capable of taking care of herself." Prowl said with an air of finality, signalling the end to the impromptu meeting.

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It happened when no one was expecting it. In the midst of battle, the Minibots were called upon to flank the Decepticons and attack from behind. Bumblebee and Tracer made their way away from the main battle, skirting around the Decepticons' positions for a sneak attack. Without even having to check her sensors, Tracer knew that Brawn and Cliffjumper had done the same the other side. A nod from Bumblebee had her splitting off in a slightly different direction to him. Overhead, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were engaging in an unsuccessful display of 'Jet Judo'. Red Alert was monitoring the open channel back at the Ark, simultaneously keeping one optic on his security monitors and updating Prowl about the locations of the Decepticons.

In all honesty, on reflection, the communications blackout had been nothing to worry about; it tended to be standard fare when Soundwave was on the battlefield, but it was in Red Alert's nature to worry anyway. He attempted to contact any Autobot he could whilst contacting Blaster on the Ark's internal frequencies, requesting his presence in the security office.

Tracer stopped dead when she felt the tell-tale tingle of a communications blackout in her audios. A quick check on her sensors revealed her location to be too far away to vocally communicate with anyone, before that too froze; an unmistakeable cloying thickness surrounding her.

"Slag." She muttered to no one in particular as she heard movement behind her, mere seconds before she was grabbed from behind. She had little chance to fight as Soundwave tilted her head, thrusting his fingers into the sensitive junction between neck and shoulder and creating an electrical discharge, disrupting all her systems and rendering her offline.

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It was only after they fought the Decepticons off and regrouped that they realised Tracer was missing. A search round the immediate area revealed no sign and without communications restored, there was no definitive way of knowing where the Minibot was. Reluctantly, they all made their way back to base, the hope that they could get the communications and sensor networks up and running again and find their missing companion forefront in their processors.

Back at the Ark, Blaster was working feverishly to restore the communications before the others arrived back from the battle. They had no way of knowing the number of casualties with the communications having been disrupted so Ratchet was preparing med. bay for the worst.

Standing in the entrance to the Ark, Red Alert watched as the cloud of dust that signalled the approach of the Autobots drew closer. Inferno stood at his side, ready to help any 'bot who needed it to the med. bay. As was his habit, Red Alert scanned the Autobots as they returned. The first indication Inferno had that something had gone wrong was when Red Alert clutched at his arm.

"She's not there." He whispered.

"What?" Inferno reacted with surprise, having not expected to hear that. It was true that Tracer rarely went out on many battle deployments, but then very few of the Minibots did unless it was absolutely necessary. This was one of those times and they had fully expected her to return with the others.

"I can't detect her energy signature."

"Slag, that ain't good." Inferno muttered as the Autobots pulled up in front of the Ark. The injured made their way to the med. bay. Optimus Prime and Prowl transformed and made their way over to where Red Alert and Inferno stood; intent on finding out the situation and trying to work out what had gone wrong.

"Communications?"

"Blaster is working on restoring them. Soundwave completely disabled them this time. I've already implemented several new security protocols to stop this happening again."  
"What happened?"

"The Decepticons retreated."

"Before or after they captured Tracer?" The tone of Red Alert's vocaliser was faintly accusatory.

"The most reasonable assumption would have been after Red Alert. There's no reason to blame anyone…"  
"Except the Decepticons." Inferno cut in over Optimus Prime.

"We'll get her back Inferno. Autobots never let a team member down."

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"So this is the tracker who resisted you?" Megatron asked, staring at the small Minibot strapped to one of Hook's 'operating tables'.

"Affirmative."

"See that you don't fail this time. I would hate our efforts today to have been in vain." He leant down closer to the prone figure. "She won't be needing this." With one swift motion, he ripped the Autobot insignia from her chest, tearing metal plating and exposing circuitry. The sharp pain made Tracer jerk, an alarm signalling her return from stasis. Soundwave moved around to the head of the table, taking his position before looking towards Megatron.

"Make sure she remembers nothing." Soundwave nodded once before placing his hands either side of Tracer's helmet.

As her optics booted up, Tracer had enough time to register the color of the ceiling above her before they flickered off, overwhelmed by the sensations of Soundwave forcing his way into her processor. The few firewalls she managed to throw up in his way were easily broken through and she was left defenseless. Arching up, she screamed as he found his way into her core programming before she fell back on the table, eerily silent.

"Is it done?" Megatron asked, after Soundwave straightened and stood back from the table.

"Affirmative."

"Good. Have Hook repair her damage and I shall inform the rest of the new addition to our forces."

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	16. Unsettled

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Smokescreen grows on you after a while… in a completely good way mind you.

* * *

Smokescreen sat quietly at the back of the meeting room. A plan was being thrashed out between Prowl, Jazz and Red Alert on the best way to infiltrate the Decepticon's headquarters and rescue Tracer.

"Do ya really think it was revenge?" Inferno muttered. The fire engine was leaning uncomfortably against the wall, optics focussed on the exchange between the three officers.

"Doesn't matter what I think."

"Does to me. I know he went after her back when we were on Cybertron. Slag, I was there when he got her and I couldn't do nothing."

"It wasn't your fault." Smokescreen murmured automatically, snapping his optics to the group around the table as Red Alert stood up straighter, angrily pointing at the display in front of him.

"Never said it were. I just want to know why he still wants her."

"You're close to her." Smokescreen changed the subject.

"We all were. You don't stay in a team for as long as we did without caring about each other."

"We'll get her back Inferno."  
"Least this time we know exactly where she is." Inferno carried on as though he hadn't heard Smokescreen speak.

"Right…" Jazz paused, motioning Smokescreen and Inferno to the table. "This is gonna be the plan…"

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Tracer was greeted with the all-too-familiar sight of the ceiling when she onlined. For a moment, she struggled to remember what had happened. Memories flooded her processor and she sat straight up.

"Gah! Don't move! I am not having you ruin all my perfect work." The cultured voice reverberated in her audios and she tilted her head slightly to see the owner of the voice.

"Hook?" She asked hesitantly. The Constructicon crossed the room quickly, coming to stand by the side of her berth.

"Ah you do remember. We were wondering whether the hit that Autobot got on you would have disrupted your memory banks. Soundwave will be pleased." She listened as he continued talking, mentioning names that sounded incredibly familiar yet so very alien to her.

"Now, you can leave, but I've had to remove your transforming cog to repair it properly, so you are stuck in your root mode for now." Tracer nodded and sat up slowly, letting her gyros stabilise themselves to being upright. Jumping down off the table, she made her way out into the corridor, turning and heading in one direction instinctively.

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Walking down the corridor, she realised that she wasn't sure why she was going in the direction she was heading, only that it was the direction she needed to take. She passed few others, the corridors quite deserted. She presumed everyone was gathered in the common room or on duty in the command room.

Eventually, she came to a stop outside a doorway. Venting a soft sigh, she opened the door.

"You function within normal parameters?" He asked as soon as she stepped through the door, not looking up from the data pad he was holding.

"Yes." It seemed unimportant to elaborate anymore. She easily hopped up onto the smaller recharge berth in the room and lay down on her front. Repairs always left her feeling drained and she wanted nothing more than to drop straight into recharge. She listened to the familiar sounds of Soundwave working and the hum of the generators powering the ship. She felt Ravage jump up onto the berth and settle down at her side and she was filled with a sense of peace that seemed at odds with her location. Something was wrong, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Deciding that it wasn't worth worrying about, she let herself relax, twisting slightly so she could pet Ravage. It was only when Rumble and Frenzy started arguing about the video game they were playing that the peace was broken. Abruptly, she heard Soundwave put down his datapad and stand up.

"Rumble, Frenzy, desist now." He commanded, turning towards the casseticons. Immediately they stopped arguing and apologised. Tracer stifled her laughter, but could feel Ravage shaking with silent laughter.

"It is time to refuel." He announced. Reluctantly, she stood up and let him lead the way to the common room. Ravage padded along at her heels, Rumble and Frenzy following close behind, bickering quietly. Tracer found there was nothing she could think of to say to Soundwave while they walked, which was slightly disconcerting.

More disconcerting, she found for some unusual reason, was standing in the doorway to the common room and staring at half of the Decepticon force as they stared back at her. A small part of her processor was trying to shut down out of sheer terror whilst the rest was trying to fathom the reason for the uncomfortable feeling. Soundwave placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before ushering her in and over to the energon dispenser. Once they'd gotten their ration of energon, they sat at a nearby (thankfully unoccupied) table.

There was little conversation, they were content just to sit with one another in silence. Tracer could hear the low hum of conversation all around her; murmured whispers and laughs and jeers. It all felt so familiar, but at the same time, she felt like she didn't belong here, regardless of what the faction symbol on her chest plate dictated.

Tracer was no more than halfway through her cube when Starscream decided to join them, sitting down at their table. Immediately, the room seemed to still as though expecting something momentous to happen. Starscream leant across the table to stare at Tracer, gently flicking the red visor covering her optics.

"Hook managed to salvage your femme then Soundwave?" The innocent-sounding question had an undertone of malice that made Tracer want to shy away. The implications were clear and somehow, they sparked a memory, but it was only fleeting. She quietly finished her energon while the others talked, or rather while Starscream talked and Soundwave gave the appearance of listening, desperately waiting until they could leave the common room.

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"Is there something wrong?" Soundwave asked her as they made their way back to his quarters. He had noticed her unease while they were in the common room and was determined to find out the reason why.

"Everything just seems... I don't know… hazy?" She ventured, stopping in the corridor and looking up at him.

"Hazy?"

"As though I'm missing something. As though something isn't quite right, but I don't know what it is."

"Do you need to see Hook once more?" Tracer shrugged. She doubted there was anything the Constructicon surgeon could do to settle her unease. She shook her head and was about to reply in the negative when she was interrupted by the sound of sirens blaring throughout the ship. Instinctively, she covered her audios against the sound, barely registering when Soundwave grabbed her arm, half-dragging her down the corridor. Rumble and Frenzy had scampered off at the first sound of the sirens, looking for whatever trouble there was. Ravage continued following Tracer and Soundwave down the corridor. Soundwave pushed her into his quarters, Ravage barely managing to slip through aswell before he shut the door.

"Stay here." He ordered, locking the door before disappearing off down the corridor. Shocked, she could do nothing but stare at the locked door for long moments, wondering why she was being protected. Why couldn't she fight? Ravage sat at her feet, staring up at her before refocusing his attention on the doorway.

Footsteps echoed down the corridor and she could hear gunfire outside. Cringing, she made her way to the back of the room, as far away from the noise and evident fighting as she could be. A quick check of subspace pockets revealed no weaponry to use to defend herself. It was just her and Ravage, and neither of them would stand much chance against some of the larger Autobots. So she resorted to hiding; there was nothing else she could do except wait and hope the battle wouldn't come her way.

It seemed such a short time later that she heard footsteps of a different cadence echo down the corridor, coming to a stop outside the room she was in. Sensors detecting an Autobot energy signature she froze, ready to defend herself if needed. Ravage bristled from his position at her side. The doors whined as they were forced open and a large black mech. stepped through. He scanned the room immediately, optics brightening when he saw her. A confused look flashed briefly through his optics as he registered the visor and the faction symbol on her chest.

"I've found her… and Ravage." She heard him speak into his comm. system. Suddenly, Ravage leapt towards this intruder, allowing Tracer a chance at escape. He was distracted as Ravage moved, trying to counter the smaller Decepticon's movement and Tracer took advantage of the distraction, launching herself past him. He broke off from defending himself against Ravage's attacks to try and grab her, but her smaller size meant that she was easily able to avoid him. As she slipped through the door, she heard Ravage attack again; the sound of metal scraping against metal. Tracer didn't stop to hear anything more, concentrating on escaping and getting as far away from this Autobot as possible, or at least as far as finding a weapon to use against him! Conflicting feelings ran through her processor; ones of trust mingled with affection, yet tinged with hate and disgust. She glanced over her shoulder as she ran, checking that she wasn't being followed. The corridors appeared deserted; evidently the main battle was elsewhere on the ship, something for which Tracer was very grateful for.

Rounding the corner, she ran headlong into another Autobot. Cursing, she flailed desperately as he held on to her.

"I gotcha kid." The voice was familiar, as was the energy signature, but Tracer was panicked and unable to focus properly. Why were the Autobots after her? And why had they captured her instead of simply shooting? She kept struggling, trying to break free of his grip.

"Tracer, stop it all right?" She paused, processor registering the use of her name. Since when did the Autobots deign to call their prisoners by name?

"Inferno?" A lilting voice sounded from behind the large mech. who currently had her in his arms.

"I've got her, but she ain't gonna come quietly."  
"Hate to have to do this then." Tracer twisted and managed to see a visored mech. reach round and slip something in between the plating on her leg. Her systems registered the intrusion, but were shut down before they had a chance to retaliate.

The small group of Autobots made their way towards the entrance they'd made for themselves. A final distraction courtesy of explosives from Wheeljack and they were on their way back to the surface.

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	17. Reintegration

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Smokescreen grows on you after a while… in a completely good way mind you.

* * *

"They suppressed her memories, removed her access to them, recreated her recognition files and removed her transformation cog. Next time I see a Decepticon, I'm personally sending him to the Matrix! Do they have any idea of the amount of work it takes to sort that out?" Ratchet was ranting. Wheeljack was studiously ignoring him. Inferno was pacing in the corridor (having been kicked out earlier) and Red Alert was conferring with Prowl at the side of the room.

"There." Ratchet announced before stepping back and wiping his hands on a cloth. Both Red Alert and Prowl looked across at the medic expectantly.

"I'm ready to bring her back online." Everyone in the room crowded round until Ratchet shooed them back. "Give her a bit of room." Was his curt order before he initiated the procedure to bring her back online.

Tracer launched herself off the table as soon as her optics onlined and her sensors showed her location. Conflicting memories raced through her processor and she couldn't make sense of them. Huddled in the corner of the med. bay, she stared at the Autobots, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

"Tracer?" Prowl stepped forward, Red Alert close by his side. Her optics flicked between them, settling on Red Alert.

"Red?" As soon as she called his name, Red Alert hurried across to her, kneeling down in front of her.

"It's me Tracer." He tried to reassure her. Watching her relax slightly, he leant forward and placed a hand on her forearm.

"You're safe now. Do you know where you are?"  
"Ark, Earth." The reply came sharply, reflexively.

"What do you remember?"

"Everything…" Tracer trailed off, lost in her memories. "It wasn't my fault." She whispered.

"No one thought it was." Ratchet interrupted. "Soundwave hacked your memory files, made you believe you were a Decepticon."

"They protected me."  
"It was only logical they do that in order for you to fully believe the deception."

"But…"

"But nothing. I want you to rest and recharge. That sedative can do nasty things to your system, not to mention the work we've just put in."

"But…"

"Ratchet's right Tracer." Red Alert stood back up, holding out his hand to help her up. Confused, she allowed him to pull her up. With a comforting arm, he led her out of the med. bay, whispering in her audios.

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It would take time, they told her, for her to readjust to her surroundings. To realise that she was an Autobot. The lingering traces of Soundwave's work were still lodged in her processor, despite numerous attempts to remove them. It was only after Tracer had snapped at Ratchet after the last unsuccessful attempt that it was decided not to try again. Any problems that arose from the remnants could be dealt with if and when they manifested themselves.

The only problems with resuming her duty shifts were the attitudes of one or two Autobots. Cliffjumper in particular was a major problem; taking every opportunity to make some snide remark, normally out of everyone else's hearing.

"I give up…" She muttered to herself, watching Cliffjumper walk out of the rec. room after delivering yet another barb. "And it's rude to eavesdrop." She added to the empty room.

"You would have thought he would have given up after accusing me." A disembodied cultured voice sounded next to her.

"Mirage, I think he'd even accuse Prime of being a Decepticon if he wanted to." Tracer didn't move from her position slouched against the wall, just nodding as Mirage re-materialised.

"I am glad the Decepticons have neither yours or Hound's sensors. It would render my cloak most ineffective."

"Heh, means you can't escape when you and Hound have one of your little spats." She smirked at the spy before making a hasty exit. As calm and unruffled as Mirage usually was; reminding him of any argument with Hound was not always the wisest idea.

Everyone seemed to be keeping an optic on her since her rescue. Well, technically not everyone, but Red Alert, Inferno, Smokescreen and Hound (and by default Mirage) were always nearby in case of trouble. It looked like she had protection whether she needed it or not.

Although she knew that it was because they cared, a small part of her was outraged at the idea that she needed protecting. She'd fought more than her fair share of Decepticons over the years, and except for two, now three, incidents, she had come out relatively unscathed. That's why it irked her so much when Cliffjumper insinuated she couldn't take care of herself. She'd even taken Brawn and Sunstreaker up on their offers of training, in a bid to improve what others saw as her weakness. It hadn't stopped the comments though.

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Communications duty was one of the more tedious of duty shifts to be assigned. Sitting and scanning and listening to all the earthen communication channels was processor straining and often uninteresting. Sideswipe apparently put his time on communications duty to good use by listening to the local radio stations and learning all about prank calls, much to the dismay of the other Autobots. Tracer, like most others (with the exception of Blaster) endured the shift, scanning the channels and noting down anything interesting. Any problems were to be reported straight to the highest ranking officer on shift.

Tracer slouched in her chair, idly flipping through the channels, listening for anything of interest.

"Gimme your location then…"

"We're about two miles north of…" Tracer sat straight up, immediately recognising the static now filtering through the channel. She commed the senior officer on duty.

"Ironhide, we've gotta problem." Within minutes, he was standing behind her, leaning over to examine the data she had found. Determining the location of the last transmission had been fairly easy, the downside was that the transmitter had been moving and she had no way to calculate its speed or trajectory.

"What's happening?"

"Communication blackout on one frequency."

"And…?" Communication blackouts seemed to be the norm on this planet, so it wasn't always anything to worry about.

"It's Soundwave."

"You know that how exactly?" Prowl stood in the doorway of the communications room.

"I just do. If you don't believe me, get Blaster in here, he'll confirm it."

"We ain't disputing ya, but we need to know where this is happening."

"All I know is the position of the last transmission, I can't be more accurate than that from here." Prowl entered the room and stood next to Ironhide.

"Contact Cosmos and have him recon the area." Tracer nodded, tapping the commands into the keypad in front of her, quickly raising Cosmos and passing along the instruction.

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It was only a few minutes before Cosmos contacted the Ark to confirm the presence of Decepticons and to give a more accurate location. Tracer slumped back down in her chair, focussing once more on the monitors as the others left to intercept and stop the Decepticons.

"What was all the commotion about?" Tracer looked up, surprised to see someone else in the communications room when they didn't need to be. She ducked her head again as soon as she saw who it was. So far, she'd managed to successfully avoid everyone who had rescued her (with the notable exception of Inferno, but then it was difficult to avoid Inferno)

"Decepticon activity Trailbreaker." She muttered. He sat down at the station next to her.

"How you holding up?"

"Could be better. Look, I'm sorry I ran from you back…"

"Don't be daft. You weren't exactly yourself. Besides, given our height differences, I think I'd have run too." Tracer could help but laugh at that.

"Surprised you recognised me."

"It was only a visor. Doesn't make that much difference. Anyway, you're pretty recognisable." Faltering for an instant, Tracer didn't quite know what to make of Trailbreaker's statement.

"Only because I'm shorter than all the Decepticons." She joked, turning back to the monitor. They spent the rest of her shift in companionable silence and Tracer couldn't help but be reminded of the times she had spent on shift with Kicker back on Cybertron.

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As the days went by, her shifts were increased back to their normal levels; patrols and recon. outnumbering the monitoring shifts. Tracer never thought she would be so glad to get out of the Ark to go on a patrol. Today, she was patrolling with Bumblebee, scouting around the local towns.

"So what's with you and Trailbreaker?"  
"Huh?"

"You're spending an awful lot of time together."

"So?" Tracer couldn't quite understand what the problem was.

"Nothing…" Swerving so she could tap Bumblebee's bumper with hers, she tried again.

"Come on Bumblebee… it ain't nothing if you had to mention it…"

"Well you see there's this bet on…"

"A bet?"

"Well, it's mostly guesswork really…" Frustrated, Tracer stopped, idling at the kerbside.

"What is guesswork?"

"You and Trailbreaker… you're an item right?"  
"An item?"

"Together… you know, like bonded." Tracer was sure if she wasn't in her alt-mode, her jaw would have dropped. As it was, she sagged on her tires.

"I knew it!"

"What?" Evidently, Bumblebee had taken her sinking as an admission of the truth.

"You are together… I mean, I think it's great…"

"Bumblebee… we are not 'together'. I hate to spoil all your fun, but he's a friend."

"So you never even thought about it?" She could tell Bumblebee was teasing now, though there was an undertone of seriousness.

"I…"

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Tracer found herself sitting quietly in the rec. room, trying hard to lose herself in the surrounding conversations and failing miserably. Resigned, she let the noise wash over her, staring at the cube of untouched energon on the table in front of her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Huh?"

"It's just an expression, don't worry…" Carly stood next to the table, her hands on her hips, staring up at the Minibot. Tracer watched as Carly easily climbed up and sat opposite her, the chairs on this side of the rec. room being specifically designed for the smaller Autobots.

"What are you doing here?"  
"Well hi to you too. Carly laughed. "I met Spike in town and Bumblebee picked us up after his patrol." Tracer had the sinking feeling she knew where this was going. All the Autobots got on well with the humans who frequented the Ark. Carly had gravitated towards Tracer once she arrived on Earth, keen to learn more about the first female Autobot she'd met. Tracer had provided, with reluctant amusement, as much information as Carly had wanted to know and they had established a tentative friendship. Unfortunately for Tracer, Carly had a tendency to be blunt.

"So what is it with you and Trailbreaker then?" Very blunt.

"You've been talking to Bumblebee."

"Yep. He told me about the little bet the guys have going."

"I'm sure…"

"Look, it's nothing to be ashamed of… I mean, he's ideal from what I can see…" Tracer found it very difficult to not make any comment.

"I mean, tall, dark and handsome. That's what we girls go for, right?"

"Carly…" Venting a small sigh, Tracer tried to explain what she failed to get across to Bumblebee earlier that day; that she and Trailbreaker were friends, that they enjoyed one another's company and there was nothing more to it than that.

Unfortunately, the smile on Carly's face as she jumped down from her chair told Tracer that she'd failed again.

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	18. Recapture

Warnings: None really… sorry… I'll try harder next chapter  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Murphy's Law as applied to Transformers…

* * *

The gossip and rumors continued unabated and Tracer found herself spending more and more of her off-duty time away from the Ark, with Hound, Beachcomber or Trailbreaker (which only fuelled the rumors further) exploring the countryside.

"What can I do about it? There's nothing I can do Hound."

"I'm not saying there's an easy solution Tracer." Tracer sighed,

"I just wish they'd shut up about it. At least Cliffjumper's stopped going on about how I'm a Decepticon spy…"

"He still going on about it? Mirage told me he'd overheard him again, but I thought he'd stopped."

"Well, he's stopped now. Just keeps asking when me and Trailbreaker are going to bond properly and make it public knowledge." Hound swerved as he laughed. "It's not funny Hound!"

"I know, I'm sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to say that."

"It wasn't me who said it!"

"But you like him right?"  
"Hound!"

"I'm serious. He's a good friend."

"I know. I do like him… just not in the way that you and Mirage like each other." She stifled a giggle as Hound made a derisive sound, swerving towards her and gently nudging her side. It was only a gentle nudge, but she stopped anyway. When her engine died moments later, Hound stopped, transforming and kneeling at her side.

"Trace?"

"Decepticons." Transforming, she crouched next to him.

"Where?"

"Over the ridge, about a hic… a kilometer away." Hound nodded.

"Report to the Ark, while I take a closer look." In his element, Hound transformed and drove closer to the Decepticons' position.

Once Tracer had contacted the Ark and informed Huffer of their location and findings and requested back up, she transformed and followed Hound. They both crouched on the ridge, optics and sensors focussed on the Decepticons in the valley below.

"What're they doing?" She whispered.

"No idea. Looks like they're interested in that cliff-face." Hound pointed out the cliff-face. It did seem true, several Decepticons, Starscream included Tracer realised, were examining the rock. Sensors turned to their maximum, she scanned the rock.

"Geothermal energy…" She muttered. "There's heat in those rocks."

"And they mean to tap it." Hound mused, breaking off as he registered Soundwave staring towards their location.

"Slag." The muttered curse told Hound that Tracer also knew. Hoping that Soundwave hadn't actually seen them, he pulled Tracer as close as he dared, quickly activating a holographic projection to hide them.

For long moments they waited, barely daring to allow air to circulate through their systems. Then they watched, seemingly in slow motion, as Soundwave raised his gun and fired twice in their direction. The first shot caught Tracer in the shoulder and she pitched forward as pain flooded her circuits. The second shot hit Hound in the grill, sending him backwards. In the time it took them to recover from the shock and the pain of Soundwave's concussion blasts, the Decepticons were on the ridge.

Before Tracer had the opportunity to struggle to her feet, she was unmercifully hauled into the air by her back tire. Dangling six foot above the ground, logic dictated that she shouldn't struggle. Logic be damned, she wanted to get as far away from the Decepticons as possible. Unfortunately, squirming didn't do anything; whoever was holding onto her had a very firm (and slightly painful) grip. Hound was in much the same situation, although he was lucky enough to have both feet on the ground. Resigned to being held like a child's toy, Tracer stopped struggling.

"What do we have here?" If there was one Decepticon Tracer hoped she would never be in close proximity to, it would have been Megatron. And she was dangling mere feet away from him.

"Guard them. They will not interfere with our plans." Unceremoniously carried down into the valley, Tracer and Hound were herded against the rock face, laser rifles trained on them. Soundwave stared at them for long moments before turning and walking away. Subspace pockets were searched, both enduring the violation and their weapons were confiscated. Tracer slumped against the wall, wondering how they were going to get out of this situation. Luck, however, was beginning to take their side it appeared; Skywarp had been left to guard them and was already looking more than a little bored.

"You okay kid?" Hound had a slight wheeze to his vocaliser that Tracer could detect immediately, regardless of his concern for her.

"I'm in better shape than you." She crawled over to Hound, quickly examining the damage to his grill.

"It looks worse than it is."

"Let me be the judge of that." Quickly, Tracer patched a few broken wires. "There's not much more I can do. Least not until we get back to the Ark where Ratchet can patch you up properly."

"What about you?"  
"It's just a deflated tire… again. Nothing major."

"What now?"

"Now I guess we wait."  
"I hate waiting."

"Shut up the pair of you!" They both quieted down as Skywarp levelled his machine guns at them. They both knew there was no sense in trying to escape; two Autobots against most of the Decepticon army were not good odds. Back up was on its way, so all they had to do was wait and hope they didn't get caught in the crossfire.

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No one was sure later who had heard the approaching engines first; Soundwave or Tracer. Either way, the Decepticons were ready when the Autobots appeared on the ridge above them.

"Don't come any closer Prime!" Megatron called out.

"I won't let you do this Megatron."

"You don't have a choice Prime." Megatron swept his arm backwards, indicating Hound and Tracer, held captive by Skywarp, Thundercracker and Starscream.

"Ah wingnuts." Optimus Prime could do nothing but raise an optic ridge at Ironhide's rather unorthodox curse.

"Prowl?" He looked towards his tactician for a new plan; the standard 'rush the Decepticons' wasn't applicable here.

"Trailbreaker, keep an optic on the pair of them. If the battle gets anywhere near them, use your forcefield. I have little doubt that once the battle starts that the Seekers will release them."

"Understood." With that sorted, the Autobots launched themselves down the ridge to engage the Decepticons. As Prowl predicted, once the battle started getting too close for comfort, the Seekers let go of their prisoners and took to the air. Tracer lay where she had been thrown by Starscream for what seemed like an eternity before her systems stabilised themselves and she was able to move. As soon as she was upright, she scanned her surroundings; the main battle was far enough away from them that she needn't worry about it. Hound was closer and not moving. Keeping low to the ground to avoid being seen, she made her way to Hound, placing one hand on her former mentor's shoulder strut.

"Hound?" A quick diagnostic scan revealed he was offline and in stasis. The damage to his grill must have gone deeper and only been compounded when Skywarp and Thundercracker tossed him to the side to join in the battle.

"He can't help you now. There's no one to help you now." Without even looking, she knew who the voice belonged to. There was no mistaking the tonal qualities and the sheer undisguised threats behind each word.

"Don't you ever give up?" She questioned, finally looking up, trying hard not to reveal the tremble that ran through her chassis. He was standing too close, his gun aimed right at her spark. With a show of confidence she didn't feel, she stood up, keenly aware of the gun that followed her as she moved.

"You've tried twice now and both times you've failed."

"Rescue is not an option this time." As scared as she was, Tracer managed to stand her ground against Soundwave and not back away. With no weapon, she stood no chance against the Decepticon. Although, judging from past encounters, she wouldn't have stood a chance had she had a weapon. But she wasn't going to let that stop her. If he was going to deactivate her like his thinly veiled threat suggested, then she'd go down with a fight.

But as he stepped towards her, gun still raised, she couldn't help but step back despite her earlier thoughts on standing up to him. Across the battlefield, Rumble took a laser blast to the chest and Soundwave stumbled, the symbiotic relationship affecting him momentarily. Tracer took advantage of the distraction, kicking out low in a move she'd seen Beachcomber use before. Evidently she hadn't watched carefully enough; her kick brought Soundwave to the ground, but as he fell, he swiped at her, catching her and bringing her down with him. She gave a small cry as she landed on her back. He recovered faster than she did; standing and retrieving his gun.

Time seemed to slow down as she saw his finger tighten on the trigger. There was nowhere left to run, nothing left she could do. Tracer offlined her optics, not wanting to see what seemed inevitable now.

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	19. Rescue and Repercussions

Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: I'd apologise for leaving you all with the cliffhanger last time… but I know you all loved it really :snorts:

* * *

Tracer braced herself for the shot, expecting any moment to hear the soft click of the trigger being pulled, followed by the high-pitched whine that signalled the laser blast heading her way.

She heard the click and tensed almost imperceptibly, waiting for the pain.

But it never came.

Cautiously, she onlined her optics; a soft shimmer surrounded her and Soundwave was nowhere to be seen. The sounds of the battle filtered through to her audios and time seemed to return to normal. The shimmer dissipated the moment she realised it was Trailbreaker's forcefield. Standing, she located him, nodding her thanks before returning to Hound's side to check on his condition. He was still in stasis and there was no way it was safe to bring him out of it in the middle of a battlefield. Which also meant there was no way she could help him off the battlefield. She wasn't strong enough to drag him any distance. Sensors focussed elsewhere, she didn't notice Trailbreaker's approach, jumping when he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't do that!" She snapped reflexively, twisting round to glare at him.

"Heh, sorry. Just thought you could use a hand." Tracer nodded, unable to do much more than watch as Trailbreaker hoisted Hound into his arms.

"Least the battle's nearly over." He nodded towards the fighting, recognising the signs of Megatron calling a retreat before the Decepticons took to the air.

"Okay, so it's completely over then." He amended.

"Good." Tracer couldn't help but vent a sigh of relief, catching Soundwave's form amongst the retreating Decepticons.

The other Autobots made their way over, Prime's figure towering amongst them.

"Hound?" Prowl was efficient in everything he did, including asking for updates.

"He's in stasis. We need to get him back to Ratchet." Tracer explained.

"I'll take 'em." Ironhide stepped forward and transformed, allowing Trailbreaker to load Hound in him. Tracer followed, climbing inside, knowing there was no way she could drive back to the Ark. Now that the battle was over and her processor had chance to catch up with what exactly had happened she felt drained.

The journey back to the Ark seemed to take very little time at all. Before she knew it, they'd pulled to a stop outside the med. bay and Ratchet was staring in.

In short order, she had been repaired, cautioned on taking it easy, assured that Hound would be fine and shunted out of the med. bay. Standing in the corridor, she suddenly felt a little lost.

"You okay kid?" Tracer turned to find Brawn standing then, head tilted questioningly at her.

"Yeah…"

"Heard you stood up to Soundwave earlier. Good on you!" He clapped her on the back, ignoring her wince as she staggered and guided her down the corridor towards the rec. room.

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There seemed to be an impromptu party in the rec. room, not that Blaster needed an excuse to play his music loudly; it was only during parties that he didn't get reprimanded for it. Brawn led her to their usual table, waiting until she'd sat down before leaving to get them both some high-grade that had appeared. Thankfully, their table was about as far away as they could get from Blaster, meaning that the sound wasn't quite as intrusive and disturbing as it could be.

Over the course of the evening, Tracer found herself relaxing despite herself. The battle wasn't mentioned and the music was lowered to a more acceptable level so conversation could take place properly. It was simply friends having fun.

Those that were on shift early the next day had already left. Tracer hadn't been cleared for anything more than light duties for a couple of days, so she had stayed when Brawn left.

"You okay?" She looked up to see Smokescreen slide into the seat next to her.

"I guess." Somehow she knew that her answer wouldn't satisfy Smokescreen. He made his living by reading other mechs. The tilt of his doorwings told her she was correct.

"You can do better than that." Tracer stared down into her half-empty cube.

"Just feels strange…" She muttered, finishing the rest of the cube in one gulp. Beside her, Smokescreen raised an optic ridge.

"Let me try. You feel strange because you now don't have the fear of Soundwave coming after you because you've stood up to him." Tracer started at that before settling back thoughtfully.

"Yeah and it's a good thing ya don't have to worry about him no more." Inferno had managed to walk up to their table undetected by either of them. Smokescreen and Inferno exchanged a look and Smokescreen quickly stood up, saying he had other places to be and other mechs to see.

"You okay kid?" Inferno handed her another cube and sat down. Tracer nodded her thanks before taking a sip from the new cube, delaying answering his question. Smokescreen's reply had made her think. She had spent a fair amount of time running scared, fearful that Soundwave would come after her again. And now that he had and failed, she was left in a sort of limbo. There was no reason for her to be scared anymore because it seemed unlikely that Soundwave would try again.

"You know, I think I am." She gave Inferno a smile and took another sip.

"I'm just glad Trailbreaker were there."

"Me too Inferno, me too." They both happened to look up and see Trailbreaker enter the rec. room at the same time. Before Tracer had a chance to stop him, Inferno was waving the black mech. over. Inferno waited until Trailbreaker had sat down before standing up and grinning at the pair of them.

"Well, I'll leave ya two alone then."

"Fragger." Tracer muttered as the fire engine left them sitting there together.

"What?" Trailbreaker watched a curious expression on his faceplates, as Tracer glared at Inferno's retreating back.

"He's trying to cash in."

"What?" Now Trailbreaker was thoroughly confused. Tracer stared at him for a moment before leaning across the table.

"You not heard about this bet they've got going?" She whispered, flinging her arm out to indicate the rest of the rec. room.

"I heard." Trailbreaker replied carefully.

"I bet you he's got a bet going that he can get us together!"

"Wouldn't surprise me."

"How are you not worked up about it all?"

"No point getting worked up over it. This lot will always find something to gossip about. You and me, that's new to them." He offered her a small smile, a different expression flashing across his faceplates as she didn't comment on his wording.

"Huh." Tracer sat back and stared at him.

"They'll get bored of it in another week or so."

"Right." Tracer couldn't quite figure out why she actually sounded disappointed about that. She took another small sip from her cube before looking up at Trailbreaker again.

"Thanks for… you know, earlier." He lifted a shoulder in a sort of shrug.

"No worries. It's what I'm there for."

"Keeping an eye on femmes who attract the wrong sort of attention?" Tracer smirked as Trailbreaker just stared at her, thrown by the question and evidently not sure how to answer. In the end, he took a long drink from his cube before meeting her optics again.

"Well, hopefully you won't be attracting that sort of attention anymore."

"Smokescreen doesn't think I will. He reckons that now I've stood up to Soundwave, he'll leave me alone. And Prowl's always thought he would never come after me on Earth. Guess now he'll be right."

"At least Soundwave now knows you're tougher than you look." Tracer laughed.  
"Kicker always used to say I was stronger than I looked. Never quite forgave me for knocking him off his feet."

"You and Kicker were close, weren't you?"

"Yeah." She paused, looking intently at him for a moment, taking in the tone of his vocaliser. "But not in that way. We were good friends." The look on his faceplates made her stop talking. She wasn't quite sure why, but she suddenly needed to be anywhere but here. Abruptly, she stood up and left, leaving Trailbreaker wondering exactly what he'd said wrong.

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"Hey, do you guys hear that?" Bluestreak braked, sending the Lamborghinis flying past either side of him as they too braked hard.

"Blue, what the Pit are you stopping for?"

"I can hear someone else."

"Out here this time of night? I doubt it." Sunstreaker scoffed his sneer evident even though he was still in alt-mode.

"Honest. Kind of sounds like…" Bluestreak cut his sentence short as a blue off-road vehicle skidded round the corner and stopped, headlights illuminating their forms briefly before turning and heading in a different direction, off the smooth road.

"…Tracer." Bluestreak finished lamely, transforming and watching her bounce easily across the landscape. Almost as one, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker transformed, automatically coming to stand either side of Bluestreak.

"I wonder what she's doing out here."

"Let's find out!"

"You can't be serious?"

"Come on, we haven't had a good race for ages. Or are you worried she'll beat you again?"  
"Hey!"  
"She beat you? When?"  
"Back on Cybertron Blue, ages and ages ago." Sideswipe ignored the murderous glare on his twin's faceplates. "Up for a race then?" He folded down easily into alt-mode, revving his engine before steering off the road and after Tracer.

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"What the frag did you say to her?" Inferno stared down Trailbreaker, the usually genial fire engine now somewhat annoyed.

"I didn't say anything. She mentioned Kicker and I asked whether they were close. Then she left." Inferno nodded slowly, before turning to comm. Red Alert.

"Red. Tracer's left the rec. room."  
"I know. She asked permission to leave the Ark."  
"And you granted it!"

"I'm monitoring her location Inferno. She's safe."

"Why'd she run off though Red?"

"My guess? She needed to get out. Just like she used to do back on Cybertron with Kicker, when she thought I didn't know." Inferno thought about it before realising that Red Alert was right.

"Well?" Trailbreaker asked almost impatiently.

"Red knows where she is. She just headed out for a bit of a drive."

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"I thought her top speed wasn't that good?" Bluestreak asked, struggling to keep up with the two Lamborghinis, even over the rough ground.

"She had a head start Blue. But we'll catch her."

"Fragging right we will."

Comm. lines off and sensors tuned to the bleakness around her, Tracer could almost convince herself she was back on Cybertron. She knew that the Twins and Bluestreak were following her and she treated it exactly like the races she used to have with Kicker. Pushing her engine as far as it would go, she sped across the uneven terrain, relishing the escape the race provided. The rumble of high-performance engines echoed either side of her moments before the Lamborghinis sped past her, braking harshly and turning, forcing her to stop to avoid crashing.

"You're not as fast as you were back on Cybertron." The familiar cold tone was back in Sunstreaker's voice as he transformed, pointedly waiting for the others to do the same. Tracer transformed as Bluestreak pulled up, suddenly feeling very small with Sunstreaker towering over her.

"I could have overtaken you."

"Not without straining your engine. Face it, you're just not as good as me any more." Tracer scrabbled for a retort, not managing to find one.

"Why did you follow me?"

"Didn't have much choice. Blue here was worried about you." Sideswipe broke in, sensing the tension between Sunstreaker and Tracer.

"I can take care of myself!" She answered hotly, irritated by the implication that she couldn't defend herself.

"No one is doubting that, it's just strange to see someone else out here this time of night and after what happened today I just wanted to make sure that you were okay and everything. You know because I know what it's like to be alone and today was bad and…" Bluestreak trailed off as Sideswipe gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"What Blue's trying to say is we wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Of course everything's okay. Why wouldn't it be?" Tracer didn't seem to expect an answer to her question, finally breaking optic contact with Sunstreaker to glance across at Sideswipe.

"Just never seen you race since you got here. Why now?"

"Because I needed to get out!"  
"Things with Trailbreaker not going so well?" Sunstreaker took a step towards Tracer, enjoying his taunting.

"Frag off."

"Sunny…" Sideswipe's vocaliser held a tone of warning.

"Oh come on, everyone's been talking about it. What else could it be?"

"Maybe that Soundwave keeps coming after her and this is a good way to escape the feelings?" Bluestreak ventured, managing to draw Tracer's attention to him. She faltered for an instant, just staring at him before her shoulders slumped.

"We always used to race, me and Kicker. It was just us two, no one else. No war. Just the race." She muttered, optics fixed on the ground.

"An escape. A way of forgetting what was going on. Something to distract you." Bluestreak added. Tracer nodded, not raising her head, before turning, intent on making her escape. Sunstreaker's hand clamping down on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"You can't run forever."

"Don't you think I know that?" She twisted out of his grip and stared back up at him.

"You seem to think that you can just run away from all your problems."  
"I was not running away!"

"Could've fooled me."

"Who asked you to care anyway? You don't care for anyone. Except them." She waved in the direction of Sideswipe and Bluestreak, ignoring their gasp of shock.

"How…?" She could hear Sideswipe mutter.

"You might be a tracker, but you can't see what's in front of your own optics." Sunstreaker sneered at her before folding back down into his alt mode and accelerating off into the night, calling out to Sideswipe and Bluestreak as he left. They lingered uncertainly for a moment.

"You going to be okay?" Sideswipe asked. Tracer shrugged.

"You'd best go after him." Was all the answer she would give, watching as they both transformed and sped after Sunstreaker.

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Tracer was subdued when she rolled back in sight of the Ark. After making sure that Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Bluestreak were well away, she'd taken off in the other direction, at a more sedate pace. She took the time simply to think, but still hadn't come to any satisfactory conclusions. The figures standing there, illuminated by the entrance lights brought her abruptly out of her thoughts. Not to mention made her want to turn around and drive as far away as she could.

"Tracer, come on, me and Red wanna have a word with you." Inferno's voice was quiet, but the tone was serious. There was no getting away from it and reluctantly she transformed, following them into the Ark. Red Alert headed straight for the Security Center, the one place, he said, in all the Ark where their conversation couldn't be overheard or recorded.

Once inside, she watched as Red Alert went through his standard checks before settling himself down in his chair, in front of the monitors. Inferno lounged against the wall. Tracer lingered uncomfortably, wondering exactly what they wanted to talk to her about.

"You happy here?" Inferno began.

"Of course I am. Whatever gave you the idea I wasn't?"

"Things haven't been easy Tracer." Red Alert turned and spoke over his shoulder, optics still focussed on his monitors.

"Don't you think I know that? So after everything, you're just going to send me away?"

"Of course not."

"So then what? More monitor duty?"

"No."

"Come on, you know I can hold my own. I just got a bit unlucky that was all."

"Not saying that you can't Tracer. But ya have to realise we worry, right?"

"Especially when you run off outside in the middle of a conversation.

"Red! You gave me permission to leave."

"I didn't realise what had happened." The quiet admission from Red Alert was telling. Normally he could understand the activities of any Autobot with just a few button presses.

"I know I shouldn't have run out on 'Breaker like that…"

"But?"

"I needed to get out." Tracer turned and paced. "Look, Sunstreaker's already chewed me out about racing around in the dark, so I don't need it from you!"

"Sunstreaker?"

"Yes. Now, if there's nothing more you want to say?" She left the question hanging, hoping that there was nothing more they wanted to add.

"Just… be careful, okay kid? Don't want you getting hurt or nothing."

"Smokescreen already said that he doesn't think Soundwave will bother again."

"Inferno wasn't just talking about that Tracer."

"What then?" Tracer asked before realisation dawned in her optics. "Trailbreaker. You mean Trailbreaker don't you?" The way Red Alert shifted uncomfortably told her everything she needed to know.

"Please just ignore that slagging bet. It was bad enough you trying to set us up Inferno. If, and only if, anything were to happen, don't you think I can deal with it myself?"

"Well, yeah but…"

"But nothing! Now if you'll excuse me?" Tracer barely gave them time to reply before stalking out of the Security Center.

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	20. Admissions

Warnings: Nada, sorry.  
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback  
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.  
Authors Notes: Did someone mention being evil to their own characters? No? Oh dear…

* * *

Trailbreaker caught up with Tracer as she stalked down the corridor.

"Hey…"  
"What?" She snapped before she turned and realised who it was. "Sorry 'Breaker." Trailbreaker shrugged, staring down at her.

"You okay?"

"Fine." She managed to squeak out, emotions crashing down on her like an avalanche.

"Just worried me when you ran out like that." That stopped Tracer in her tracks.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to worry you, really." Trailbreaker shrugged again, both dismissing and accepting her apology.

"You sure you're okay?" At the obvious concern in his tone, Tracer paused.  
"We need to talk, don't we?"

"Might be good." He agreed, placing one hand on Tracer's shoulder, guiding her down the corridor. Unbeknownst to either of them, two pairs of optics followed their movements.

"You owe me."

"Hey now, nothing shows that they're together."

"But why else would he worry?"

"Man, you've gotta lot to learn."

"Fine, but when there's proof, you'll remember tonight and I'll have been right."

"Whatever man, whatever." The soft laughter echoed down the corridor before the two made their way back to the rec. room.

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It was quiet outside on the cliff side. Trailbreaker lowered himself down to the ground, settling against the cliff face.

"You just gonna stand there?" Self-consciously, Tracer sat down, staring at Trailbreaker.

"I don't know what to say."

"Why did you run?"

"I…" She paused, expelling air deeply in a mockery of the human sigh. "I needed to escape."

"I frighten you?" Trailbreaker sounded resigned, as though he were used to it, his size greater than so many others.

"No!" She was quick to refute his question. She sat quietly for several minutes, staring at the ground, before raising her head to look Trailbreaker in the optics.

"Last time I got close to anyone we got split up. I'm scared." She admitted in a small voice.

"I'm not going to push you into anything."

"I know you're not, it's just… I don't know…" She trailed off and shrugged, not entirely sure what to say, or even how to say it.

"The last thing I want to do is jeopardise our friendship, but I won't lie, I am attracted to you." Tracer ducked her head. The warmth in his tone as he said those words was almost unbelievable. She'd heard it so many times when listening to Red Alert, Firestar or Inferno talk about the other; the warmth and affection that colored their tones when they spoke about their loved ones. She glanced up shyly once he'd finished.

"I do like you… I'd just hate for us to end up together because of that bet…" She tried to explain how she felt, not wanting to launch into something because everyone else thought they were an item. As she trailed off, Trailbreaker just nodded in understanding.

"That's something I can handle." Trailbreaker smiled at her before patting the ground next to him. "Come on, you'll be able to watch the stars easier from here."

She crawled over and settled herself against his side, smiling almost shyly as he wrapped one arm around her, pulling her slightly closer. He pointed out a few constellations, naming them both from Earth and Cybertron. Leaning against him, she let his voice wash over her, lulling her into a much needed recharge.

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"You sure you should be watchin' that Red?"

"I'm merely keeping an optic on her Inferno."

"They don't half look adorable together." Inferno rested his hands on Red Alert's shoulders, leaning forward to look at the monitors.

"Indeed."

"Aww, c'mon, ya must admit they do."

"I never said they didn't."

"Whaddya think'll happen between them?" Red Alert vented a sigh and leant back in his chair.

"I honestly have no idea Inferno. But I don't doubt that Tracer can take care of herself." He tilted his head back to stare up at the fire engine. "That means no interfering."

"Would I do something like that Red?" The grin on Inferno's faceplates could only be described as cheeky.

"Yes." Red Alert straightened in his chair, optics flicking to another monitor, noting down the time on a datapad. "The Twins and Bluestreak are back." He murmured.

"Heh, I do wonder what Sunstreaker said to Tracer. Can't imagine him being concerned 'bout anyone else aside from Sideswipe."

"And Bluestreak."  
"Bluestreak? They were out… oh…" Inferno trailed off as he realised what Red Alert was talking about. "Well, good luck to him keeping up with them!" He chuckled.

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The Decepticons worked on an unusual cycle; they would have a bout of activity before seemingly vanishing and staying utterly quiet. Something that Prime, Prowl and Red Alert worried about, whilst the rest of the Ark's crew took the time to relax and recharge.

Or do other things.

Tracer lingered in the corridor. She knew she needed to talk to someone and had spent an agonising time trying to decide the best mech. to approach. Finally, she'd made her decision and was trying to convince herself that she definitely needed to talk to someone. Steeling herself, she strode up the corridor and palmed the door chime.

Belatedly, she paid more attention to her sensors as sounds of scuffling and muttered curses drifted through the closed door.

The door slid open and Hound peered out, looking a little surprised at having been disturbed.

"Tracer?"

"Hound… I… can we talk?" Hound looked even more surprised before straightening and beckoning her inside.

Mirage stood up, looking more than a little uncomfortable when she entered. She tilted her head in apology.

"It won't take long, I'm sorry."

"It's all right Trace, nothing that me and Mirage can't finish later." Hound reassured her, shooting a decidedly lecherous glance at Mirage. Looking a little mollified, Tracer stepped more into the room.

"I'll leave you two alone." Mirage nodded at Tracer, who put a hand up to stop him.

"You don't have to leave. Besides, I doubt whatever I say to Hound will stay just with him." There was no malice in her tone, just a simple understanding of the relationship Hound and Mirage shared. Mirage shrugged and retook his previous position on the berth.

"Well?" Hound prompted, leaning against the berth and indicating for Tracer to take the chair.

"I need a bit of advice…" She ignored the snort Hound gave and continued. "I need to know about relationships. And…" She paused and looked at the ground. "In particular, relationships involving officers." Mirage's cultured voice answered her, before Hound had a chance to say anything.

"The dividing line between officers and recruits really doesn't matter much here on Earth."

"So it wouldn't be frowned on?"

"Trace… if you want to get together with Trailbreaker, no one here is going to stop you." As Hound spoke, Tracer's gaze left the floor, shooting straight up to the amused optics of her former mentor.

"Hound!"

"You don't have to be quite so direct love." Mirage commented.

"That's who you're talking about though, right Trace?" A small nod was their only affirmative. Hound laughed, moving over to clap Tracer on the shoulder.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Uh…"

"You are going to tell him, aren't you?" Mirage spoke up.

"Of course I am. It's just a matter of finding the right time."

"No time like the present!" Hound pulled her up out of the chair and turned her towards the door. "Go get him kid!"

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She stood outside the door, shocked, as Hound disappeared back inside his room, the door shutting firmly behind him. After a few moments, she gathered herself and, deciding to take Hound's advice, wandered off to find Trailbreaker.

She found him in one of the supply rooms, double-checking the inventory. She stood and watched him for a moment, noticing the fluid way he moved despite his size, the way the light reflected off his paintwork, pristine despite the color. She caught herself and shook her head. What was she now, some love-sick sparkling? Before she could say anything to get his attention, he looked over his shoulder straight at her.

"You going to stand there for the rest of the day?"

"I didn't want to disturb you…"

"Believe me, I want to be disturbed." He put down the datapad he'd been reading from and stretched before beckoning her in. "Take a seat and disturb me."

She made her way in and hopped up on a crate, settling herself down before looking up at him.

"Things have been quiet lately…" She started awkwardly.

"Sure have. That's why I'm in here finally taking inventory of this stuff."

"Means I've had a bit of a chance to think…" She continued quietly.

"Oh?"

"I want to… I mean, I'd like to…"

"To what?" Trailbreaker tilted his head, confusion flashing across his visor.

"I'd like to give us a try." She muttered, ducking her head. Large black fingers gently tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his optics.

"I'd like that too…" Trailbreaker replied softly, leaning in towards her. Almost hypnotised by the look in his visor, Tracer found that she couldn't look away.

Until the base alarm sounded, startling the both of them.

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End file.
